There will be Dawn
by Frozen Seagull
Summary: "They say Absol only appear before people to warn them of a disaster.." On the morning of Dawn's big day she gets terrible news; her father and brother are found dead. Now, 5 years later, she starts a journey to end what her father and brother started.
1. Chapter 1

Hi guys! Ah, finally got the first two chapters finished! It'll be great, trust me! I've planned this story all week and literally read Bulbapedia like a Bible or something.. Anyways, this is my first ever Pokemon fanfic and I hope you guys like it. Just to make things a bit easier to read, here's some facts about this story:

In my story the trainers can start their journeys at the age of 11 or later if they choose to. I know it's officially at the age of 10 but 11 suits better in this story. Dawn has a father and brother in this story and their names are Michael and Damien. They work at some old ruins North of Sinnoh and for the time being live there (to be close to work, duh).

The myth of Ampyr is all by me and I've planned the tale carefully, so don't flame me about how stupid it was ect. The myth itself is going to be in a key role in the story so it would be good to at least try to read it through, just to let you have an idea on what it's about and such.

And then one more thing; I know Absol is said to sense natural disasters but hey, it's my story. And besides, the Absol does infact sense a natural disaster (if you can call it that) that is to happen a good 5 years later so yeah.

If there's something you don't understand please tell and I'll try to explain in the later chapters :)

Nothing more to blabber about, please R&R and enjoy!

* * *

**There will be Dawn**

A long long time ago, in the frozen ice-caves of the North, lived an unknown, terrible beast that was said to be more powerful than anything else on Earth. The temptation of owning this powerful being was too great for the human that heard of it so they wandered to the deadly ice-caves of the North to confront the beast. None ever returned.

Years past and still no one had returned claiming to own the beast. Rumors of the beast had spread all across the lands and seas thus claiming more victims to the tales. The amount of people killed by the beast had scared the people living closest to the North so they devised a way to keep them safe.

Thus, the Pendant of Ampyr was created. It was said to have been made from silver forged with the flame of Moltres and have a piece of the beast's claw. The shape of the pendant was said to change from its owner's aura and spirit, yet it always held mysterious words carved from unknown markings. The one who could read these words had the power to control the beast and thus, everything else.

The pendant had been kept a secret from the rest of the world and only the people of Ampyr, the northernmost city it was created in, knew of it. The knowledge of the pendant was to give the people peace of mind towards the beast and to make them feel safe. However, the people of Ampyr got paranoid by the pendant and tried to get it for themselves.

Soon news of the Pendant of Ampyr had reacted all across the land and the city was attacked by humans whose greed destroyed Ampyr. The pendant changed owner rapidly and quickly gained a second name, the Crimson Pendant, for to gain ownership of it, it required blood from the previous owner.

No matter how many times the pendant was re-owned, none had ever solved the meaning of the strange words carved in it, thus not fully controlling the beast. Then, eventually the day came when the beast couldn't be controlled anymore do to the multiple owners of the pendant. The beast was outrageous for the fact that the humans had tried to control it and use it for their own gains so it used it's powers to destroy every town in the North, warning the people not to come seeking for it again.

The Pendant of Ampyr was told to have been taken by the beast so that no one could ever control it again. It returned to the frozen ice-caves of the North, hiding the pendant into one of the hundreds of caves found there so that it couldn't be found.

And so, to this day forward, the Pendant of Ampyr hides in one of those caves. Waiting in ice, darkness and silence for someone to find it once more.

* * *

"Father, will you be back before I set off next week?" a young blue haired girl asked as she stood outside, waiting for her father to tie his shoes and get his coat on.

The man in front of her was tall and he had fairly short brown hair that was a tad too long for a neat impression. He was in his late thirties, dressed in a plain black t-shirt with loose khaki colored pants and could have easily been mistaken for a teenager from a far. His face however gave the impression away; it was a properly aged and was equipped with deep blue eyes that hold vast knowledge and a hint of boyish wildness.

"Don't worry Dawn, I'll defiantly be here when you set off for your journey!" he laughed as he tied his left legs shoelaces.

He knew he had stayed longer than he'd intended but the fact he could see his family only a couple of times a month had taken the best of him. It was now dark, almost three hours after the sun had set, and he was determent to get back to the ruins as soon as possible, for he too needed proper sleep.

"Hmm, and when was the last time I slept for over four hours.. I wonder.." he smiled to himself.

Working at the ruins had it's downsides; they could only work for as long as the sun was up, so this meant getting up before five and working for as long as ten pm. Then, of course, after this was the paperwork that was neglected during the daytime and took it's revenge at midnight. Needless to say, proper 6-8 hours of sleep was a privilege few had.

But he didn't mind. He loved his work! The feel of dirt under your hands, the excitement of discovering something new, the total aw as you learned more.. Yes, this job had it's ups as well.

His thoughts were disturbed as he felt a soft pull on his coat. It was Dawn.

"Promise?" she looked at him with her own blue eyes.

He was shocked by the thought they seemed to see right through a person, knowing when they spoke from the heart. Those eyes reminded him so much of her mother.

He shook himself from his thoughts and smiled at his daughter.

"Yes Dawn, I promise. You know you won't be able to leave without saying goodbye to me first, right?" he held out his large hand and stroked her on the head. She was, after all, his little girl, even though starting her Pokemon journey shortly.

His attempts to get her trust didn't work, for she was still skeptical.

"But what if you have to work? I know it's important to you and it wouldn't be the first time you couldn't attend to my big days so.." she trailed off with a hint of disappointment in her voice.

This hurt him a little. Yes, it was true his work as important to him and he couldn't recall the number of times he hadn't been able to attend his daughter's plays or birthdays due to a new discovery or something. Someone could and would even think he cared more about his work than his only daughter and that made him feel really guilty. It was true his work took much of his time, that was one of the reasons he had moved closer to the ruins in the first place – and for the reason that the family wasn't comfortable moving to another town so far away.

He sighed, of course Dawn would doubt his word, he had disappointed her so many times before. But that wasn't going to happen this time, for this would be the last time he would see his daughter for months. He smiled to her.

"How could I make you believe me?" he asked her softly and paused for a moment. Dawn just kept staring at him with her deep blue eyes. It almost seemed like she could guess what he would say. Her eyes lit up as she waited for her father to answer her.

"What if I brought Damien with me?" he finally questioned his daughter whose eyes seemed to pop out from excitement.

"Really? Could he really come?" she asked him with hope in her eyes.

"I think your brother would also want to see you before you set out. Who knows, maybe he'll even give you one of his old Pokemon" her father smiled at the look she made when the possibility of getting one of her brother's Pokemon was spoken of.

Dawn smiled and hugged his father. Whenever he promised Damien would come see her, she knew her father would keep his promise.

Damien was her older brother and worked at the same ruins as their father. He was nineteen and had fairly long brown hair that was usually partially tied up with a hair band Dawn had once given him. He was the exception of the family having mysterious purple eyes instead of blue. Overall he looked a lot like their father when he was young.

Damien was well known throughout the whole region do to his amazing trainer skills, good looks and an up-and-coming Pokemon researcher, just like their father. Needless to say he was the ideal brother. The only downside of this was that he too had moved and visited almost as seldom as her father.

"Okay, I hope he'll come! The last time he was in town was about a month ago and I want to see him before I head out" she said happily while still hugging her father.

"I'll tell him that as soon as I see him" he answered and quickly checked his clock. Eleven, that meant he'd be at the ruins around four am if the police didn't stop him from speeding.

"I'd better be going, it's a long drive back to the ruins and I'd like to get a few moments of sleep before starting work. Now until next week, try to behave yourself no matter how excited you are. You'll also need that beauty sleep so don't stay up late, got that?" he gave Dawn a kiss on the cheek and started to make his way to the car. He cursed to himself for leaving his Alakazam at the ruins and taking the car, teleporting would have saved a lot of time – not to mention provided him some extra hours of sleep.

Johanna came outside to wave him goodbye as he took off for the six hour drive back to the ruins. She smiled at her daughter who waved her hands over her head and yelled her normal 'safe trips' and 'remember our promises' until they couldn't make out the car's headlights anymore.

"Okay young lady, off to bed" she smiled at her as she herded her back inside. It had suddenly gotten a lot colder and this worried her; this couldn't be good for her vegetables.

* * *

Dawn quickly changed into her pajamas and dived under the sheets. It had been a long day and she was thoroughly exhausted. Her father was home for the first time in a while and she'd gotten up around six so that she could spend as much time with him as possible. Of course her mother could have told her that he would arrive after nine but she didn't mind. She had had plenty of things to do while waiting.

She gently picked up a large book beside the bed and traced the cover with her fingers. It was a gift from her father and it told about old Pokemon myths and legends. She considered it fascinating and was totally taken over by it when her father had read a few pages to her.

The book itself was old and it had some markings on the covers and the pages were a tad yellowish. The once colorful pictures were now only ghosts and the book had the smell of dirt on it. The massive brown covers felt good to the hand and the title of the book was printed with a beautiful silver font.

She loved it.

"The Tale of Ampyr and Pyron: mythical, terrifying Pokemon" she whispered as she traced the silver font.

It was so like her father to give her a book about Pokemon, particularly mythical ones. She'd lost count of the numerous books and articles she'd gotten from him in the last years. This one however was something brand new to her, for she'd never before heard about the stories the book told of.

She carefully turned the front cover of the book to marvel the index. The book was quite long, over a thousand pages, and it contained over fifty similar myths of one-of-a-kind Pokemon. Some of these tales were as old as five hundred years old but her father said almost all of them were actually much older.

Dawn carefully turned the pages to the story her father had told her about. It was one of the oldest stories in Pokemon history and was said to be nearly nine hundred years old. She looked at the page with a beautiful silver necklace surrounded with ice and read the title slowly.

"The Pendant of Ampyr and the Beast of the North" she read in aw as she remembered what her father had summarized to her of the tale.

"There was once a city up in the North called Ampyr and it was the northernmost point humans lived. Not very far away from it stood the frozen ice-caves of the North, which consisted of hundreds and hundreds of caves. These caves were said to be the home of a powerful beast – a Pokemon – that could provide it's master overwhelming power was it ever caught. Many ventured to find it but no one could become it's master. The people of Ampyr feared the beast so they forged the Pendant of Ampyr – a necklace made out of silver and the beast's claw- that would have power over it. The pendant would keep the town safe from the beast should it ever attack. However, the news of it travelled fast across the land and soon everyone wanted it to finally control the beast. Because of this the city of Ampyr was destroyed and the pendant lost. It was rumored that the Beast of the North found it and took it with him, hiding it in the ice-caves."

Dawn knew her father left out some parts of the story because most of the old tales told also of wars and bloodshed and this one wasn't an exception. With a necklace that powerful the plausibility it was fought over had to be at least 100%.

She carefully turned the pages and marveled the beautiful drawings and strange font the story was written in. The letters were hard to tell apart and she wondered how her father could read it so fluently. Must have been the years he worked as a teacher in one of the region's high schools – dealing with handwritings so gruesome made this one look neat.

Dawn smiled. That had been the turning point in her father's corer; teaching Pokemon history and then suddenly having gotten a chance to inspect newly found ruins. Her father couldn't believe his luck!

Dawn examined every picture the tale had to offer and gradually got a better idea on how the storyline actually went. As she had thought, her father did leave some nasty things out.

The pendant had had a rough journey before the beast hid it; actually it's history sort of reminded her of the Lord of the Rings.

There was also something more to the pendant; it could change it's shape. From what, she didn't know but if she understood correctly it had something to do with it's 'owner' – as they called it in the book. The pendant was also said to have strange, unknown words carved into it and these words made it possible to control the beast. The words were also said to hide a cruel secret about the pendant and this secret could only be passed down to the person who could read the mysterious words. So far no one had been able to understand them.

"I wonder what it says. Maybe something about a curse or something.." she thought as she once again looked at the picture of the pendant. She wondered what shape it was now since it was taken by the beast, perhaps the shape of the beast's soul.

Just as she was tracing the long silver chain her mother stepped into her room.

"My god Dawn, your still up? It's almost midnight and you need sleep" she blabbered as she sat down on her bed. She took one glance at the book and sighed. She had known her daughter couldn't stand not knowing all of it's mind-blowing tales and legends. She would read it throughout the whole night if she didn't do something.

Johanna smiled and put her hand on Dawn's, which had stopped tracing the chain the minute her mother had come.

"Dawn, you have all the time in the world to read the book tomorrow. Don't waist the nights awake when there made for sleep" she told her softly as she took the book from her daughter's hands and placed it on her table. She knew perfectly well her daughter would be like a zombie if she didn't get enough sleep – and this, for the record, had happened way too many times before.

For a moment Dawn looked disappointed while being tucked in by her mother but the day been long and sleep quickly took her over. Johanna stayed for a while by her daughter's side to make sure she was really asleep before quietly exiting the room and closing the door behind her.

She too needed some rest after today so she made her way downstairs to turn the lights off. To her surprise, her Glameow was still awake and quite stressed. She was sitting on one of the sofas and staring nervously outside one of the windows. Johanna quietly walked to her side and looked at her precious friend uneasily. It wasn't like Glameow to stay up this late; usually she was the first to fall asleep.

The cat-Pokemon didn't even spare her a glance, just continued staring outside nervously. She had clearly spotted something outside and was keeping a close eye on it.

Johanna too looked out the window and it took her a moment to figure out what the cat Pokemon was watching. She gasped.

An Absol. It was standing in the same place Michael had left his car earlier on the day and staring strait into her eyes. It's crimson red eyes glowed eerily in the darkness and seemed to paralyze her.

She felt shivers down her spin; seeing an Absol this late at night could only mean one thing. Disaster. Tragedy. Misfortune.


	2. Chapter 2

Hi again! Arg, it's currently past midnight when I'm doing the last minute editing, so you guys understand if there's a few spelling mistakes, right? Speecking of which, go visit my profile before flaming me about the spelling mistakes, you'll understand afterwards! :D I can let you know that english isn't my first language, find out where I'm from and lots more on my profile! God I sound like some sells-person.. -.-'

Anyway, I really hope you like the story. I know my way of telling it is long and sometimes pointless but try to bare with me, okay? :)

Enjoy, R&R please!

* * *

The gruesome sound of the alarm clock pierced the silence inside the tent. Two brown haired men slowly started to move in their sleeping bags and the younger one made sounds of protest as the older one slammed the alarm off.

"Oh please don't be six o'clock already?" the younger one sighed as he opened his tired eyes. His red irises stared at the blinking green digital numbers and he let out a heavy sigh.

"At least you got a few hours of sleep Damien.. I got back at around five and barely got any shut eye.." the older man complained as he sat up in the fairly large tent.

Damien continued to linger in his sleeping bag and he glanced at the other man.

"Well if you'd taken Alakazam or Rapidash like I suggested you'd been here a lot earlier dad.. It's your own fault if you didn't get any sleep" he said and finally got up.

Michael sighed in frustration and rubbed his blue eyes. He knew perfectly well that it was his own fault for not getting any sleep but why did the boy have to remind about it? Last night's trip back to the ruins had been everything but pleasant and he'd cursed to himself every ten minutes about leaving his Alakazam with Damien.

Damien stood up and walked in the other side of the tent and grabbed a small red and white ball from his things. He pressed it once to make it larger and then tossed it lazily in the air. There was a loud pop followed by a red light. A small orange crab looked up at it's trainer and waited for instructions.

"Wha'd ya say for a little wake up call Krabby?" he smirked at the little crab that already knew why it was sent out. It to smirked in it's own way as it shot a stream of water from it's mouth to it's trainer's face and then – to his surprise – Michael's.

Damien couldn't suppress the faint chuckles as he watched his father jump high in the air from the surprise. Well, at least they were fully awake.

* * *

"So what did Dawn think about the book?" Damien questioned his father after a long days work. He was curious about his little sister and after the morning he and his father hadn't had time to discuss family affairs.

Michael tore his gaze from his notes to face his son. The boy had a smile on his face but as his father he could tell it wasn't genuine.

"She loved it" he said with a ghost of a smile on his face as he remembered his daughter's expression when he handed the book to her.

Damien's face gained a little more life as he imagined his sister reading the book and marveling all the tales and myths it hold. He let out a sigh of relief; maybe they weren't done for after all.

"That's good. Did you tell her about _it_?" he looked at his father with a serious face.

Michael stared at his son. That face of his held eyes that had seen way too much for a nineteen year old. He just nodded and returned to his notes.

"She wants me to be there when she sets off next week" he said in a casual tone while studying the bits of paper on his desk. When he didn't hear a reply from Damien he figured he should just continue.

"..I told her at you'd come too" he almost whispered it as he sensed his son tense up.

"You know that's not possible dad.. Next week is too late to see anyone ever again if we're right" he replied grimly as he picked up a sheet of paper that he'd dropped just then.

Michael fell silent for a while before he turned to face his son once more. Damien seemed to be paralyzed as he stared blankly at a sheet of paper he'd dropped earlier. The boy's features were grim as he seemed to be having a silent conversation with himself. Michael frowned; this was becoming more of a habit ever since they'd started working at the ruins.

"You know you don't have to be a part of this Damien" he stated as he watched his son return back down to Earth. His face was emotionless as he stared back at his father.

"Don't be stupid dad" was his only answer to the matter in hand. What was his father even thinking? Of course he would be a part of this, he was a part of this after all. There wasn't a choice to back down now and leave all the work to dad. No, he couldn't bare live with himself it he did.

"Hey, it was just an idea. If you don't like it then just forget about it." Michael said quietly as he started to rub his forehead.

"But promise me this; you will go see your sister during this week. It doesn't matter if you skip work, I'll just say your needed home. Dawn hasn't seen you for what seems like forever and I bet you miss her as much as she misses you" he pleaded to his son who still seemed paralyzed in his chair.

Damien slowly switched his gaze to his father but it took a while before he answered anything. He seemed to be debating about the choices he was given. Finally there was some life on his face.

"Fine, I'll visit Twinleaf in a few days. I'll stay the day and return after Dawn goes to sleep, happy now?" he sighed as he's eyes travelled to his belt were he held six small red and white balls.

"Besides, my Pokemon don't seem to like this lifestyle as much as I'd hope they had. Maybe I'll give one or two to Dawn as a going away present. Most of them are bored out of their minds just doing nothing anyways.." he thought out loud and Michael couldn't hide the genuine smile on his face. How had he known that Damien would give Dawn one of his precious Pokemon?

Maybe there was still hope after all.

* * *

Damien surprised both Dawn and Johanna a few days after Michael had visited by suddenly appearing at their door. He was wearing a vine red colored shirt and loose black pants and his hair was weathered from the wind. He'd flown to Twinleaf with his Fearow that he'd caught years ago in Kanto and stated that he'd be staying for the day. Dawn was more than happy to see her beloved brother and the two of them spent the day together.

To entertain his sister, Damien had brought all of his courant Pokemon with him. Asides his Fearow he also had Jolteon, Rapidash, Crobat, Linoone and Houndoom. They were all used to Dawn and greeted her happily as she raced to hug and kiss them.

Damien smiled as he watched her play tag with a few of them, while Linoone was by his side. The nineteen year old put his hand on the badger-like Pokemon's head and began to stroke it. The Pokemon was content by the shone affection and closed his eyes.

"You like it here buddy, being home an' all?" he questioned it and got a quick nod in response.

They were silent for a while, both enjoying the feeling of being back home. Damien watched how Dawn raced to catch his Houndoom and stumbled in her own feet causing her to fall on the ground. The tall dog-like Pokemon stopped immediately and trotted to her side to check if she was injured. As soon as it was in her reach, Dawn sprung up, tagged the Pokemon and ran laughing in the other direction. The Pokemon was stunned for a while before it began running after her.

Damien sighed, how could anyone be clumsier than his sister?

"Think you could keep Dawn safe an' away from trouble if you'd stay here?" he tried to keep his voice as normal as possible but knew right away that it hadn't worked.

Linoone opened his eyes and stared at his beloved owner, blue eyes meeting red. It was as if it could pick up the slightest changes in his mood and he was demanding to know why the sudden change.

Damien silently cursed to himself for his terrible acting skills but quickly recovered. He put on the most lovable smile he had to offer and looked at Dawn again. The smile was genuine for he really loved and cared for his sister.

"Dawn's supposed to start her Pokemon journey by the end of this week and I don't have that much confidence in her for her to be able to take care of herself. She'll need a strong and experienced companion by her side to keep her safe. And I know for a fact that my courant lifestyle isn't the best for you guys 'cause you get bored so easily and I literally don't have any free time these days" he explained to his faithful companion who listened quietly by his side.

"I've thought about it a lot and I've decided to leave some of you guys here in Twinleaf with Professor Rowan or with mom. I'll keep either Fearow or Rapidash to travel from place to place. I know that you in particular can't wait to get going on another adventure" he went on and forced a smile on his face – it hadn't been easy to make that decision.

Linoone sat by his side quietly and took his time taking in what his owner had told him. He could sense the sadness from him but there was also something else.. Grief maybe? Whatever it was, this must have been a hard choice for him and he didn't want to cause more worries for his owner.

Linoone nodded in response and Damien visibly relaxed.

"Thanks buddy, I knew I could trust you" he sighed happily and stroked the Pokemon once more. Now that he knew Dawn would be looked after he felt it was easier to breath.

"_There's still one more thing to do before I can relax_" he thought absently as both he and Linoone watched the frail blue haired girl who kept falling out his prized Rapidash.

* * *

Dawn was probably the luckiest girl in the world right about now. She had literally drowned in happiness when Damien suddenly appeared by their door and told them he came to visit.

"Where's my favorite little sister when you need her?" he'd shouted as soon as their mother had opened the door. "Did she trip over a Burmy and brake her arm or something?" he'd joked as his mother had almost suffocated him as she'd hugged her only son.

Dawn had come running downstairs with a hug grin on her face.

"Har har, Damien, very funny" she'd answered sarcastically and hugged her brother tightly.

The day had gone by too quickly talking to Damien and playing with his Pokemon. She had been really surprised by the fact he'd taken his courant team with him, although she knew Damien would sooner or later send them home anyway.

She had had so much fun imagining her life as a real trainer and she couldn't wait for Friday. Damien had been generous enough to let her take a ride on his Rapidash (after he'd convinced her on riding with a saddle) and she was currently trotting along the roads of Twinleaf Town. Damien had stayed home to talk to their mother.

They came to an open field just on the edge of town and Dawn couldn't help but give Rapidash some more rein so it could gallop and stretch it's legs. The Rapidash understood what she wanted and it started to gallop casually along the side of the field. Damien had told them not to go fast so they settled to a fairly slow pace.

Dawn loved the feeling of the wind in her hair as they staidly began to reach the end of the field. All of Damien's current Pokemon were very agile but Rapidash toped them all; even now they were going faster than for example Jolteon could run.

She smiled when she remembered what her brother had told her about his team.

"Oh sure you could have defensive tanks or strong attackers but when you've got speed on your side your practically immortal. I mean how are they gonna attack or prepare themselves if they can't even see you move?" he'd always told her when she had doubted his 'all-mighty-team'.

When she was younger she'd always thought strong attackers were the best Pokemon to have on your team with a few tanks to balance the team. Damien however had never believed in such a thing and preferred to use speed as his number one strategy. Of course he too used strong attackers and defensive tanks from time to time but most of his Pokemon relied on speed.

Dawn had developed respect to all and she didn't mind what Pokemon in particular made her team. What mattered was that they were her's and they would battle in their own style.

Rapidash gradually slowed down as the field ended and turned back home. Dawn patted the fire-horse's muscular neck and gave it some more rein so it could walk more freely.

"Thanks for the ride boy, hope you enjoyed it as much as I did" she chatted to the horse as she saw her house getting closer by each step. The horse neighed happily in response and Dawn couldn't suppress a smile.

* * *

Damien stayed until midnight when Dawn finally fell asleep. They'd been talking about his earlier adventures in Sinnoh and when he realized Dawn hadn't asked him anything for a while he noticed she'd fallen asleep on the sofa. He'd carried her to her room and tucked her in like the horrible absent brother he was and stayed by her side for a while more until she was fully asleep.

But there was another reason he had offered to take her to her room in the first place. He still had something worth doing before he returned to the ruins; this was the last time he'd ever step into this room after all.

The book wasn't hard to find, it was lying on her table with pieces of paper sticking out to mark her favorite tales. It didn't surprise him to see a mark on "The Pendant of Ampyr and the Beast of the North". The tale had been one of his own personal favorites when their father had shown the book to him. The irony in it!

He quickly checked no one was looking, neither inside nor outside the house, and stuck his hand inside one of his pockets. He pulled out a small white letter and slid it in a chosen spot in the book. Now there was only the matter of hiding it so she couldn't find it before Friday.

He let his gaze wander around the room and finally set his red eyes on Dawn's old desk she'd used to do her schoolwork on. He quietly made his way to the desk and opened one of the many small cupboards it held. He emptied it in a matter of seconds, placed the large book on the bottom and then re-filled it, trying to place everything like it had been. When he was content with his work he closed the cupboard and let out a relieved sigh.

His work was done. If everything went as he and his father hoped, that letter would never been read by Dawn. However, if things ended up as they suspected, Dawn would sooner or later find the letter and have to end their doings.

"I sincerely hope it'll be later, for Dawn's sake.." he whispered to himself as he took one more look at his baby sister and left.

When he got back downstairs his mother was still sitting of the sofa with her Glameow resting on her lap. Johanna smiled at her son.

"Thank you for coming today Damien, it really made Dawn's day you know. She's been talking nonstop about Friday and couldn't wait to see you" she thanked her son as he made his way to the door.

"Yeah, no problem mom. It's been a while since I've visited, right?" he replied a bit guiltily as he put his coat on. He walked up to his mother who had set her cat-Pokemon on the sofa and stood up so she could hug her son.

"Are you going to make a habit of suddenly appearing in front of our door?" she teased him but Damien knew she was serious.

He had to bite his lip to keep a casual face.

"Don't know, I though of bringing some of my Pokemon back here to the Prof. They've been really bored up in the ruins 'cause I haven't got any time to spend with them. I also thought about given Dawn one of them for her trip 'cause lord knows what she's gonna get herself into" he replied and smirked as he thought about his sister.

In truth, he'd just lied to his mother. He wasn't coming back, not to even drop off his Pokemon. He'd done that while Dawn and Johanna had prepared dinner and he'd taken a quick walk through town. The only Pokemon he had with him was Rapidash so that he could get from place to place. He planned on releasing it in a few days or just giving it to one of his friends, it seemed like such a waist just dumping it after all the years he'd trained it..

Johanna seemed a little unsure about her son's words, she knew perfectly well when he was lying (which wasn't often) and it was usually about something dangerous or sad. She had a nasty gut feeling that he was planning something dangerous again.

"Damien" she said in a low and lovingly tone. Her son's eyes wandered around the room and refused to meet her own.

"If you were to plan on doing something dangerous, you'd let me know, right? If something was bothering you, you'd tell me?" she started and gave her son a caring look.

He still didn't face her. Instead he glanced at his watch and made his way to the door.

"It's getting late, I don't want Radidash to spend all night carrying me back.." he said quite absentminded as he turned the doorknob and stepped outside.

"You know, just the other night after Michael left, there was an Absol on our guard" Johanna whispered frightened. Damien froze in his tracks.

"An Absol? What was it doing here?" he bluntly asked, he already knew the answer.

"They say Absol only appear before people to warm them of a disaster.." she whispered and looked grimly at her son. She knew he knew the tales of Absol.

"..Oh" was all he answered as he let out his Radidash and mounted it. With a last glance at his mother and childhood home, he pressed his calves on Rapidash and signaled it to gallop.

The fire-horse took off instantly gradually getting faster until it reached full speed. The flames of this mane and tails would serve as light on their way to the ruins.

Johanna watched sadly as her son took off into the night on his beloved Rapidash and quickly lost sight of them. It had become cold again and she felt a shiver go down her spine. Suddenly, Glameow was by her side and hissed loudly into the darkness. Johanna slowly looked up fearing what she might see. Her nightmare was just about to get worse.

"..Absol" she whispered in terror as she once again met those glowing red eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

I finally got the chapter finished, what a relief! It was really hard to write - I wrote it like 3 times again because it sounded too angsty- but it was worth it.

Special thanks to my beta and reviewers, I couldn't have done it without you!

And not like I'm giving away anything big but yeah, it's finally time for some family tragedy. We'll all miss you Michael and Damien!

I know it's alot longer then the previous chapters but I know you guys can read it! Please, R&R!

p.s. Guess who just turned 18? :D

* * *

"Quit slaking off Travis! We'll never reach Mt. Coronet at this rate!" a humongous man yelled to his partner as they hiked along a steep mountain road that was to get them to their destination.

"Yeah, yeah, Marty, keep your pants on… God, you stop for a minute to tie your shoelace and you'll be called a slacker… You know it was you who should be called that," Travis sighed to his friend as he quickly caught up to his side.

The large man raised an eyebrow to his friend's statement in confusion.

"Oh yeah? How's that? I've been in front of you the entire time," he questioned and smirked in satisfaction. He was, after all, the region hiker-champion. And now his friend was calling him a slacker?

Travis nodded and gave out a frustrated sigh. He rubbed his temples to calm down. How could his friend be so stupid?

"Well, if someone would've gotten up at five instead of seven and not eaten everything in my refrigerator; we could've reached Mt. Coronet hours ago!" he reminded and watched his friend's face turn pink.

"Hey, a trip this tough requires a good night's rest and energy!" Marty tried to defend himself but knew he'd lost this one.

Travis sighed and brought his hands to the back of his head.

"Whatever," was all he responded with.

They kept silent for a while and concentrated on the hike. Then, finally, they could see it. Mt. Coronet. They gave each other an excited expression and began to make their way up the mountain.

They hadn't gone very far up when Travis already stopped. He'd seemed to spot something and he let his safety rope support all of his weight as he leaned back to see better.

"Hey Marty, I think someone's down there," he said in a surprised tone. There shouldn't have been anyone other than themselves in the area at this time in the evening.

Marty just huffed.

"It's probably just some rookie trying to conquer Coronet and didn't have it in 'im… Happens a lot you know, they think they're all that but then they get tired and go crying to mommy," he laughed and kept climbing.

Travis wasn't convinced.

"You know what Marty? I think there's two of them down there. I don't see any movement…" he now sounded a little worried and tried to see through the slowly creeping darkness. There wasn't any time to lose; the people down there could've been seriously hurt or worse. Marty was such an idiot sometimes..

"Don't tell me you're going to go down there? Oh man, after we just got to the good stuff.." Marty sighed as his friend started to make his way back down. Finally he too decided to go check the situation.

Travis was the first to clip himself off the ropes and jogged to the place he'd seen the others. They were on the other side of the mountain; about a few hundred meters away from where he and Marty had started climbing, so it took him a while before he finally reached them. Only this time he could see movement. There was someone else beside the motionless men and he seemed to be going through there pockets.

The nerve!

"Hey, you there!" Travis yelled and started to run towards the men.

The thief quickly glanced at him before bursting into a dash. Although it was fairly dark, Travis caught a glimpse of his purple hair and noticed the small item in his right hand that he held on to for dear life.

That dirty weasel had obviously stolen something but as much as he'd wanted to chase after him, he had to check up on the two men lying ever so quiet by his side.

He kneeled by their side and checked their pulse. He let out a shocked sigh.

"Oy, Travis!" Marty called when he finally made it to the crime scene. He was out of breath and collapsed a few feet away from Travis.

"So, how are they?" he managed to ask whilst trying to catch his breath.

Travis gave him a grim face.

"No breathing, no pulse, no signs of life," he answered and watched Marty's face turn white. He seemed to have trouble breathing.

"…You- you mean they're…" he couldn't finish his sentence and Travis gave him a single nod.

"Yeah, dead," he replied and looked at the bodies.

They both had longish brown hair that partially covered their somewhat familiar faces. They looked a lot alike, the other one being at least twice as old as the other. Perhaps they were related...They were both dressed in washed-out clothes and had multiple scratches and bruises on their bodies, yet their facial expressions looked calm.

Whatever these guys took on before departing from this world had to have been rough and he wondered how they could look so calm, almost happy.

Marty had somewhat come over his shock and kneeled by the bodies to take a look. He was shocked again when he recognized them.

"…Travis," he began whilst still staring at the two.

Travis only turned his head to his friend to let him know he was listening. Marty stayed silent for a while before raising his gaze to meet Travis's eyes.

"...I know them," he whispered with terror in his voice.

* * *

She had been up as soon as the first rays of sunlight had touched her face. The day was finally here, it was Friday.

Dawn quickly brushed her messy blue hair and changed into the black and pink dress she'd bought especially for this day. She couldn't help but hum her favorite melody as she practically flew through the house as she checked her bag over and over again. She couldn't wait to set off!

Linoone curiously watched the blue-haired girl as she dashed in-and-out of every possible door the house had to offer. At this rate they were surely going to fall off the next time someone entered a room.

He mentally sighed, if the girl was this excited here there was no telling what she would do when they'd run into their first wild Pokemon. She'd probably tell him to use Wing Attack or something.

Still, he couldn't blame the girl; it was her first journey and she had every reason to be excited about it. Not that she was the only one looking forward to the journey, he was pretty thrilled himself. This would be his first time in almost a year to accompany his trainer on a journey and although he'd liked staying with Damien, this sure was better than being cooped-up inside a Pokeball for almost the entire day.

Dawn was in a state of panic.

"Mom! Have you seen my scarf? I can't find it anywhere!" she yelled whilst emptying her closet, sending tones of clothes flying across her room.

Linoone was currently being bombed with socks when Johanna stepped into the room. She gasped at the mess her daughter could cause in a matter of seconds and almost stepped on Linoone as it rushed out of the room.

"It's on the coat rack Dawn, like it's always been," she sighed and started to gather outrageously colorful shirts from the floor.

Dawn stopped emptying her closet and quickly thanked her mother before sprinting downstairs. Johanna was left to clean after her.

"Oh that girl," she whispered lovingly and smiled after her.

Once again Linoone watched as Dawn literally destroyed the coat rack to get her hands on her dear red scarf. This time he was lying safely on the kitchen table along with Glameow who'd gotten almost rammed over by Dawn whilst coming downstairs.

He sighed again and stared outside the window. This journey would be anything but boring, that's for sure!

* * *

It was almost ten and Dawn was ready. Her large backpack was probably filled to its max with all kinds of things she would need on her way. She'd also taken some books on becoming a trainer and she had every possible map of Sinnoh and its surrounding in case she got lost.

Linoone was waiting calmly beside her large bag and was ready for action. It had been a while since he'd last battled and he took this as a challenge for himself as well as Dawn. It would take time before they'd be able to battle as smoothly as he and Damien had.

Dawn was currently stalling her leave, hugging her mother tightly with teary eyes.

"I'm gonna miss you mom," she kept saying as Johanna gently stroked her hair.

"And I'll miss you honey," she replied with a gentle smile on her face.

She'd done this so many times before with Damien but it didn't make it any easier to send her children off to the world. Then again, she also knew they'd be fine and would drop by to visit every once in a while. And Dawn also had her Pokegear so she could always call her and talk.

"You'd better get going dear before Professor Rowan runs out of Pokemon," she said and let go of her daughter.

Dawn quickly checked her watch and was shocked at the time. By this rate she wouldn't get a starter Pokemon, not that she really needed one; she had Linoone to accompany her. It was just that the idea of training a Pokemon by herself and growing along with it were things she'd always wanted to experience.

The young girl picked up her huge bag and somehow got it on her back. With a thrilled smile, she gave her mother one last hug before opening the door and stepping out. Linoone was quick to follow, knowing exactly where to go, and it ran ahead of her.

Johanna waived goodbye to her daughter before re-entering the house and closing the door. She leaned her back on the door and let her eyes wander around the house.

It would be very quiet without Dawn.

Just as she was remembering the many weird and wonderful situations her daughter had gotten herself into she was dragged back to reality by the piercing ring tone of her phone. She picked up the phone and placed it absentmindedly next to her ear.

"Johanna speaking," she answered and waited for the caller to introduce himself.

She didn't mind even if it was a telemarketer trying to sell a new gardening magazine, heck she'd buy anything right now because of her mood. The caller however wasn't anyone she could expect.

"Hello Johanna, this is Officer Jenny from Hearthome City. I've called to inform you of some important news. Are you free to talk right now?" Officer Jenny questioned her in a calm voice.

"Sure, I'm free to talk. What is the news about?" she asked and made her way to the sofa. Glameow leaped to her lap and she started stroking its head.

"About your husband and son, ma'am," Jenny answered and paused for a moment.

Johanna's hand froze still on Glameow's head. Her heart had just skipped a beat by those two words. Husband. Son.

Jenny sighed and continued, knowing what to expect from the poor lady.

"I'm very sorry to have to inform you that your husband Michael and son Damien were found dead last night at Mt. Coronet."

* * *

She heard the horrible news from her mother later that day. Glameow had reached Professor Rowan's lab just as he was introducing her the three starter Pokemon Sinnoh had to offer. In a way she was glade Glameow showed up just then, because she couldn't pick which one she wanted and after making that decision it would have been even harder to give it away.

They rushed back home with Linoone leading the way. Her mother had been lying in the middle of their yard crying her eyes out; she'd obviously tried to walk to the lab but had collapsed from the shock of the news.

When she tried asking her mother what had happened, she only went on about 'the phone call' and 'Mt. Coronet'. Professor Rowan had come along too because Glameow's actions had been so out of character. The professor had questioned her more thoroughly and what they heard stopped her heart.

"Husband and son, dead. Jenny from Hearthome said she was sorry…" she managed to whisper.

* * *

After that day she hadn't been the same.

None of them had.

It was needless to say her great adventure had been postponed for a more suitable time and circumstance. She'd stayed out of her own free will, keeping company for her mother as she'd isolated herself in their house, not seeing anyone for days.

Her mother had been affected greatly by the loss of her husband and son and if it wasn't for the help of the family's friends, Dawn would've been left to plan the funeral all by herself.

Of course she grieved over her father and brother but seeing her mother heartbroken after the passing days of the phone call had somehow made her a bit more rational. She wanted to see her mother smile again, to hear her laugh, to be by her side so she could protect her from the pain and sadness she too felt.

The days turned to weeks and the weeks to months but gradually Johanna's state got better thanks to therapy and the support of their friends and Pokemon.

Everyone in Twinleaf had been devastated by the news of Michael and Damien and they'd done what they could to help Johanna and Dawn. Johanna's state had caused great concern and people stopped by daily to help her out and to make sure she didn't do something reckless.

Dawn on the other hand didn't want to talk about the tragedy to anyone, not even to her closest friends. As soon as her mother's state improved, she became more and more shut down, isolating her feelings from people. She only spoke with her mother and Linoone: the Pokemon followed her like a shadow. Eventually her old friends left to become Pokemon Champions, Breeders and whatnot, leaving her one of the few people over 11 in Twinleaf that hadn't yet experienced her own journey.

* * *

"You want me to do what?" Dawn asked her mother in shock as she was paralyzed midway down the stairs. Her eyes were the size of small plates and she opened and closed her mouth like a Magikarp on dry land. Numerous different emotions roared inside of her, yet she couldn't find words for them. Her mother had really gone over the line this time.

Johanna just stared happily at her daughter, laughing at her expression after she revealed her little secret to her. She reminded her of a Magikarp..

"It's just like you heard, Dawn," she giggled and continued going over her huge list of things needed to do for the Twinleaf Festival. "We've decided to hold a big battle tournament to attract more people to the festival this year. So far over fifty trainers have entered and we expect more during the following days. Naturally there's going to be a great reward to the winner and Palmer was gracious enough to promise to battle the winner as well. The prize isn't clear yet but the organizers of the festival want you to present it to the winner," she babbled on, making markings on her list at the same time.

She raised her eyes from the paper and looked at her now panicking daughter who was still glued to the stairs.

"Isn't it exciting Dawn? Just think of how many people will come, they say that there are trainers coming all the way from Hoenn and even Kanto!" she could hardly keep herself seated, let alone keep it cool until the 'big day'.

Dawn finally managed to find words for her feelings and thoughts as she remembered how to use her feet again.

"Present the award, are you kidding me? You know darn well I don't like crowds! No, I can't do it! Find someone else!" she spoke the first things that came to her mind as she stumbled down the rest of the steps. Linoone was quick to follow her as she finally made it to the kitchen, her destination before she'd got paralyzed by her mother's 'lovely' surprise.

Johanna just shook her head in argument as she watched her daughter turn the water on and place a glass underneath the steady stream of water.

"You'll be fine Dawn, it's really just for a few minutes and you don't have to say much. Besides, everyone else is either competing or working so there's no one else. Well at least your age anyway..." she trailed off and focused on her list that became even longer with every glance.

Dawn could feel her legs start to give up as she imagined the hundreds of people, all staring at her as she opened her mouth but the words wouldn't come out and her legs refused to function properly as she made her way to the winner. Crap, it would be much worse if she was forced to do this!

She took a couple of deep breaths to slow her racing heartbeat down and tried one last time to argue against her mother.

"Mom, please, don't make me do this! What if I have plans that day?" she tried to think of a best-case-scenario for herself and avoid the whole damn festival like she had for the last five years.

Johanna wouldn't have any of her sad attempts to wiggle herself out of her 'honor'.

"Dawn, your doing it and that's final. You know you won't have plans for that day anyway, all of your friends are at the festival and you'd just stay home like you've done for the last several years. You're going to do great! And it's been too long since you've gone out, honey," she told her, thus ending the discussion.

Dawn sighed, she knew it! She'd known all along what her mother's true intentions had been when she signed her up to that stupid job; public appearance. To show everyone she was still as sane as the rest of them, that she had a life unlike everyone thought.

Dawn stared at her water glass for awhile before returning it to her mother. Johanna had gone to find more paper to complete her list. Without a second thought, she walked to the front door and turned the doorknob.

"I'm going for a walk, be back before you know it!" she told her mother who was now standing next to the kitchen table with a huge pile of paper in her hands. Apparently her list would have more additions than a few.

Johanna smiled and nodded, signaling her to go. Dawn opened the door and stepped out with Linoone close by. The Pokemon hadn't gotten its nickname for nothing, it was like her shadow.

Dawn chose to walk her normal route, which took from her house, to the fields beside the town, to the river that flowed near the forest. As much as she'd wanted to wander off further she never could leave her safe and familiar route. However, Twinleaf was starting to get on her nerves which made the desire of wandering off to the unknown more and more tempting.

The festival was the last straw; if she messed up in anyway, she'd be out of here faster then you could anger a Gyarados.

The Twinleaf Festival had been keeping her mother very busy during the last month or so. She was on the comity of the event and was working hard to make the festival the best so far. Although she had to work long days and focus only on the festival, Johanna was happier than in awhile.

Dawn sighed as she started to go over her not-so-precious-memories.

It had been five years since her father and brother had been found dead and life was beginning to bloom again in both her and her mother. Her mother had been in a very poor condition for the first couple of months but thanks to therapy and time she'd gotten past it. She was a completely new person; lively and happy. The way she was back then, totally recovered.

Dawn on the other hand couldn't recover fully from what had happened, mainly because she refused to talk to anyone about the matter. She'd wanted to deal with it alone and didn't want to tell other people how she felt because the thought of her father and brother hurt too much. She figured Linoone was probably the only one who understood her; he couldn't talk about his feelings even if he wanted to, anyway.

Linoone walked right by her side as they finally reached the riverside. It was already pretty late; the sun was just about to set into the horizon. They sat by the river to take in the view. They sat quietly, listening to the river flow and marveling the beauty of the sunset.

Dawn leaned back into the grass and sighed. Linoone set his eyes on her as to question what was wrong. A ghost of a smile forced itself upon her face as she noted how well the Pokemon had grown to know her.

"…So mom wants me to be part of the oncoming festival," she started as the Pokemon sat quietly beside her.

"I can't believe she'd promise the rest of the damn comity that I'd even do it! I mean, she knows I hate crowds and what I understood there'll be hundreds of people coming to the festival... God! I know I'll only make a fool of myself and then everyone in town will think I'm even weirder than already!" she continued, anger and hurt piercing her words.

Linoone just looked at her with his blue eyes and let her talk.

Dawn was still staring at the darkening horizon being deeply in her thoughts. She had to think of a way to refuse her obligation and stay safely at home through the festival. Perhaps she could fake an illness or something?

She sighed finally in defeat as she knew there was nothing she could do.

"Damn, looks like I have to go to that stupid festival after all," she hissed and got up, surprised how dark it had gotten without her noticing.

"How can it already be this dark? Didn't the sun just set?" she wondered out loud and looked at Linoone who was staring fiercely into the darkness. He'd spotted something in the forest and wasn't going to let it make a sneak-attack on them. Dawn gasped as she realized the situation and stared nervously into the darkness to try and see what Linoone already had.

She could hear her heartbeat as they waited for the creature to expose itself. Although she has had Linoone for five years they'd never exactly battled anyone before and their lack of skill set them at a huge disadvantage.

"Who's there?" Dawn whispered, fear and slight panic in her voice. Linoone hissed in agreement.

When there was no reply she summoned a bit of her courage and took a step towards some bushes near the riverside.

"We know you're there so show yourself or we'll make the first move!" she tried to sound brave but failed miserably. She'd lied about attacking first; she barely even knew what moves Linoone could master, let alone use the right ones. Why did these things always happen to her?

What ever had lured in the darkness had gotten upset about her threat and emerged from a near by bush roaring fiercely. It was a huge brown bear with a ring on its stomach and obviously not happy to be threatened. Dawn gasped in horror as she saw the huge Ursaring – a giant even among its own kind – approach them with crimson red eyes glowing in the dark.

She was too scared to order Linoone to attack it, too scared to even run away. She was completely paralyzed as the Ursaring kept closing in. Linoone stood in front of Dawn to protect her but he couldn't do anything before she gave an order. The Ursaring raised its paws high in the air and revealed its sharp claws, ready to take a swing at them. Dawn mustered up all her will-power and opened her mouth to scream.

"Help! Please, someone help me!" she screamed from the top of her lungs as the bear Pokemon swung its massive paw down towards them.

She didn't even have time to close her eyes as she waited for the hit.

It never came.

"Aggron, stand by for battle and use Iron Tail!" someone yelled and through a

Pokeball in the air. A massive gray and white armored Pokemon roared as it swung its tail and hit the Ursaring in the stomach.

The bear roared out in pain as it went flying across the air and hit a tree. That only angered it more and it charged at its attacker, its paws beginning to glow orange. Dawn once again gasped as she recognized the move; it was going to use Fire Punch.

Whoever had let out the part Steel-type Pokemon reacted quickly.

"Thunder!" he commanded and the Ursaring had no chance once it was hit by the electric-attack. It quickly dived into the bushes and fled.

"Hmm, pathetic..." he muttered as he called back his Aggron and made his way to the still paralyzed Dawn. He glanced at her with an annoyed face and shoved his hands into his pockets.

Who was this guy? She'd have to thank him for saving her life, and Linoones of course!

The boy seemed to be about her age, maybe a bit older. He wore what seemed to be a blue jacket and black pants and he had an ordinary looking yellow backpack. Although it was now almost pitch black she could still tell his hair color, which was oddly purple. The guy just stood in front of her looking bored and annoyed at the same time, obviously waiting for her to say something.

When she didn't, he closed his eyes and sighed, frustrated.

"What kind of idiot can't even protect herself with a fully evolved Pokemon?" he asked harshly and glanced at Linoone before he continued, closing his eyes once more.

"Then again Linoone is completely useless…" he murmured, voice cold as ice.

"…WHAT?" Dawn blurted out, finally recovered from her shock. She couldn't believe this guy, who did he think he was? Every bit of gratitude she felt for him suddenly disappeared as she got angrier by the minute.

The purple haired boy smirked bitterly.

"So you can talk? I was beginning to wonder..." he replied and Dawn could hear the taunt in his voice.

That was it. Now he was getting it!

"Yes, I can talk thank you very much! And how dare you tell me my Pokemon is useless? For your information Linoone's great!" she spat at him and crossed her arms. Linoone huffed by her side, guess he was angry at the boy too.

The boy snorted and looked at Dawn straight in the eye.

"If it's really that 'great' then why not use it to defend yourself?" he said harshly and seemed to remember something.

"Speaking of defending, you owe me a thank you for saving your ass. I can't believe that a Ursaring would ever find its way to Sinnoh and then attack a weak trainer like you!" he said coldly.

Dawn stared at the boy in disbelief. The nerve of him to tell her to thank him! She was seriously pissed off.

"Who the hell are you telling people to thank you and talking down to them? It's not my fault if you just came strolling along and decided to help me!" she yelled at him while another question popped up in her head.

"Who _are_ you anyway and why are you here?" she leaned in closer to the boy to try to see if he'd answer truthfully.

The purple-haired boy just smirked coldly, turned around and started making his way where he came from. Dawn was about to lose her temper.

"Hey! I was talking to you, you icicle! What, can't even answer a simple question?" she called after him but the boy was already swollen by the darkness.

"Hm, figures..." she murmured to herself and started walking back to town. Her mother was probably really worried and would soon send a search-party or something to find her. She glanced once more at the direction the boy had disappeared before turning her eyes to the road, deciding not to give him anymore thought.

She failed miserably.

Linoone trotted next to her, it knowing exactly where he was going in the depts. of the night. Every once and awhile he looked at Dawn, clearly seeing that something was troubling the girl. He couldn't tell what it was or what to do to take her mind off it, so he stayed quiet and kept on keeping her company.

They were home before they knew it. To Dawn's surprise, her mother hadn't lectured her for coming so late – to be honest, Johanna had too much to worry about due to the oncoming festival and she hadn't even noticed how late it had been.

Dawn sighed as she changed into her pajamas. The following couple of days would be living hell if her mother kept going on like this.


	4. Chapter 4

How on earth did it take almost two weeks to write a chapter? Beats me, I really struggled with this one.. I had to rewrite a part of it probably five times before I was satisfied with it.

This chapter is long but you know the drill, no pain no gain (meaning if you leave anything unread, you'll risk missing something really important)..

The next chapter will be up in a couple of days :)

R&R, please enjoy! :)

* * *

Like she'd predicted, her mother got even worse as the festival came closer. Dawn hadn't even seen her the other day because Johanna was needed at the festival area almost the whole day. Dawn had kept quiet about the incident with the boy and Ursaring and had tried to act as normal as possible when her mother asked her if anything interesting had happened.

The town had become overcrowded a day or two before the festival and Dawn felt she would suffocate on the streets, where trainers battled one another and got to know the small town. Her quiet walking routes weren't quiet anymore as people gathered by the riverside to catch new Pokémon or to swim. Dawn had gladly stayed home to avoid all of them, much to her mother's disappointment. She'd hoped her daughter would have been excited to see old friends or at least try to make new ones, but no; she'd just sat in her room, cleaning her closets to kill time.

"Dawn! You home?" Johanna shouted as she entered their house and rushed to the kitchen to get a quick bite to eat. It was almost 5:00 pm and she should've been at the preparations for the festival. Not that she'd slaked off the whole day; she'd been running across the town the whole day to make sure every pie, ribbon, and schedule was perfect.

Linoone popped his head in the kitchen to see what the commotion was about; Johanna wasn't particularly quiet as she rampaged through the cupboards to find something eatable. She settled for crackers due to her time limit and ran around the house to get her things ready for the festival-preparations.

"Dawn, you up there?" she tried once more to reach her daughter and almost ran over Linoone. At this point she figured out herself that her daughter had to be home.

"I'm in my room mom!" Dawn yelled from her room, not bothering to come downstairs. She knew her mother would've already left before she even got down.

"What's up, something important?" she asked and continued to clean her room, which she'd done for the past few days.

Johanna didn't even stop her running around to answer her daughter.

"Nothing in particular, I just wanted to know if you were still here. I'm just about to leave for the final preparations and won't be back before ten, maybe eleven, so you'll have to cook for yourself if you get hungry! Just take anything you want, I'll eat the buffet foods anyway," she told her whilst shoving her things in a huge bag and making her way for the door at the same time.

"Yeah, I figured that much," Dawn muttered in her room and stared at the huge pile of papers that fit neatly inside one of her desk's cupboards. She couldn't believe how it fit there in the first place; the cupboard had been filled to the max for years.

She heard the front door open and was about to say 'bye' to her mother but it was already too late. The door slammed shut and she could hear her mother run across their yard, her footsteps echoing in the house until she'd gotten too far. Linoone entered her room shortly after Johanna had left and sat by Dawn's side and looked at the pile of papers that were about to tilt over.

Dawn sighed loudly as the papers fell across her floor, mixing with others that she'd decided to keep.

She'd been keeping herself occupied for the past few days so she wouldn't have to go outside and 'get to know the young trainers'; as her mother put it. She'd gone through every inch of her room, whether it was her closet, bookshelf, or her bathroom. She'd cleaned everything from floor to ceiling. Cleaning wasn't something she found enjoyable but it had to do for know. Her mother didn't understand her sudden 'cleaning frenzy' but knew it wouldn't last long.

On that day Dawn had decided to go over her old study desk, which she hadn't used in years. The desk just stood in the far end of her room, acting out as an extra shelf where she tossed old magazines and other things she didn't want to throw out. Her mother had asked her countless times to clear it up, paint it, and make it into her new study desk but she'd never really liked the idea. Now; however, with limited things to do, it had to be done.

And how nostalgic had it been! Dawn felt as if she was still ten, studying to become a beginning trainer at the local school. She'd read every single old book and report that she'd done years ago and couldn't help but laugh her ass off for their poor quality or immature answers. The tests that seemed so hard those days were now a piece of cake and she smiled as she read her 'know-it-all' answers. Dawn didn't have the heart to throw all of them away, especially her drawings of her dream teams.

She traced the colored pictures with her finger and smiled. When had her dream team ever included a Psyduck or Steelix? It was funny how her brother had affected her way of judging Pokémon; Damien had never been really picky when it came to his team but he liked to have relatively fast Pokémon. Dawn could remember how they used to have long, tiring discussions about their dream Pokémon; Damien had often chosen either a fire or electric type and she herself which ever Damien had chosen the last time. Quite pathetic actually.

Dawn started to organize the hundreds of papers covering her floor, she didn't even notice that Linoone had disappeared from her side. Just as she was trying to make sense of a messy drawing, which looked like a combination of a Tangela and Gastly, Linoone huffed loudly and bumped into her arm.

Dawn turned her head to look at the Pokémon, wondering what had gotten into him.

Linoone looked intensively into her eyes and huffed again and taking a few steps backwards but didn't lose eye contact.

"What is it Linoone?" she asked and forgot about everything she was doing. Linoone turned around, trotted to her desk and huffed once more. When the girl still didn't understand what the Pokémon was trying to say, he scratched one of the cupboards while looking straight into her eyes.

Dawn had an odd feeling about the whole thing. Linoone had never acted like this before, so how could she know what he wanted. After a moment she finally decided to investigate the situation and stood up which made the Pokémon stop his scratching at once. She slowly began making her way to his side; by the half opened cupboard.

"What's wrong Linoone? Did you find something nice?" she spoke softly to her friend as she kneeled to his side and opened the cupboard.

What she saw caught her off guard. It was the book she'd lost, the book she'd searched for, the book she'd loved.

The book that had disappeared from her life as soon as she'd got it, which was years ago.

Dawn looked at the familiar brown cover with the silver font, being in shock, she was not able to say a word. All of these years, it had been here?

She remembered all too well the day when it went missing. She'd noticed it the day after Damien's visit and had literally turned the whole house upside down trying to search for it. She'd been miserable when she didn't find it, thinking up crazy ideas to explain how and why it had gone missing in the first place. Her mother on the other hand hadn't been too worried, thinking it was better for the girl not to get too attached to it; she was setting off on an adventure in a couple of days at the time anyway and couldn't carry the huge book with her.

She didn't know what to do. Should she be happy for finally finding the book? Her heart pounded in her chest and a hundred different thoughts raced in her head, all being about the book.

She'd given up hope on finding it. She didn't even want to think about it because it brought back so many agonizing memories of the time she'd gotten it.

Linoone stared at her with his blue eyes, not knowing what to do. He'd smelled the book as soon as the cupboard had been opened, knowing what it meant to Dawn. But there was something else in the scent, something painfully familiar. Finally he decided to wake up the paralyzed girl from her shock by bumping his head on her arm.

Dawn was pulled back from her thoughts and turned her head to face Linoone who was staring intensively into her eyes. With a sigh she turned her eyes to the book and carefully stretched out her hands to pick it up. She sat the book onto her lap and started to trace the letters absentmindedly, just the way she'd used to.

"The Tale of Ampyr and Pyron: mythical, terrifying Pokémon," she whispered and took a moment to calm down from an oncoming hysteria attack. Once she was calm enough, she carefully turned the front cover and stared at the first page.

They were exactly the same as she remembered; the paper was an odd yellowish shade and the pictures had lost almost all of their colors. She took in the familiar smell of the old book and smiled, even surprising herself with her reaction.

"...It's really back," she said quietly and hugged the book gently. Linoone sat down by her side with a curious expression on his face. Dawn smiled at the Pokémon.

"My father gave this book to me when he came to visit a week before... it happened. It tells about very old Pokémon myths and it used to be my favorite book, even though I only had it for a few days. It disappeared a while after Damien came to visit and I tried to look everywhere for it... I was pretty convinced that he'd taken it with him or something because I couldn't find it anywhere... And all this time it had been in my old desk!" she explained to the Pokémon that was sniffing the book she held in her hands.

"I remember one story in particular that fascinated me. I remember how he told me about it a little before he had to leave... I hardly got any sleep that night 'cause I couldn't stop reading it!" she smirked at the memory as she turned the pages, marveling at the beautiful pictures and gorgeous handwriting.

"If you'd like I could read a little of it to you right know," she turned her eyes to Linoone with a smile on her face. The Pokémon hadn't known about the book or its stories and she felt a little guilty for talking about something important to her without letting Linoone know about it. The Pokémon answered by nodding its head and taking a comfortable possession next to her.

She nodded and searched for the right pages, turning hundreds of pages before finding the correct story.

"The Pendant of Ampyr and the Beast of the North" she read the title and couldn't help but smile. She turned to Linoone, who was staring curiously at the book.

"This used to be my favorite tale," she said softly and stroked the picture of a silver necklace. Linoone just huffed impatiently, wanting her to continue. Something about that name seemed familiar, yet he couldn't remember when or where he'd heard it before.

As Dawn began the story Linoone became more and more antsy. He'd finally remembered why it had sounded so familiar. But that wasn't the reason for his restlessness. He'd smelled the one he knew wasn't here anymore, the person that had caught him when he was still a Zigzagoon, the person with whom he'd traveled for years.

Damien.

The book practically reeked of him, making him feel joy and sadness all at the same time. He was bewildered of how Dawn couldn't smell it but then again her nose wasn't as good as his.

Dawn hadn't even read half of the story when Linoone couldn't control himself anymore. He hopped into her lap and stuck his nose to the book, breathing in his past owner's scent and trying to turn the pages to get closer to it. At that point Dawn was really worried about her friend.

"Linoone what's wrong with you? You've never acted like this before!" she questioned the Pokémon while trying to get the book from his reach.

Linoone stopped at once and stared intensively into her eyes, trying to get the message through. Dawn held the book firmly against her chest with a confused expression on her face. She couldn't understand why Linoone was acting like this, it almost seemed like he was possessed or something. Moreover, the book was too precious to her and she didn't want anything to happen to it now that she'd finally found it again.

After an intense moment of staring, Linoone finally broke their eye contact and slowly approached Dawn, sitting in front of her. He gently poked the book and huffed, keeping his eyes on the cover.

Dawn knew Linoone was trying to tell her something but it was ever so hard to understand his attempts of explanation. Whatever it was, it had something to do with the book. She carefully set the book down in front of both her and Linoone and sighed.

"What do you want me to do?" she asked him and tried to focus only on his body language.

Linoone eyed the pages and turned his head to the side, implying for her to turn the pages. Dawn started to turn the pages, not knowing what she would find. She could feel Linoone's excitement build up as she kept turning the pages, now almost done with the tale of the pendant.

And then she could see it. It was on the last page of the tale, covering the picture of the ice-caves.

"A letter..." she whispered and looked at Linoone. He was looking at her curiously, waiting for a reaction. She brought her eyes back to the letter and picked it up, vaguely studying it.

"I wonder where it came from. It sure wasn't there when I first read it..." she trailed off as she carefully opened it.

What she found made her heart skip a beat. It was written in a very familiar handwriting and was addressed to her.

She stared at the piece of paper in shock, a million different things going on inside her head. Linoone was starting to get a bit worried, maybe this wasn't a good idea after all.

Finally, Dawn recovered a little from her state to murmur out the first thing on her mind.

"…Impossible," she whispered so quietly that even Linoone had trouble hearing it. She tried to swallow the lump that had formed in her throat to be able to continue.

"…Damien," she haft whispered, half sobbed, as she stared at the words her brother had written for her in disbelief. She didn't know what to do or what to feel. Should she be happy, sad, angry, relieved? Should she open it or just stick it in a cupboard and just forget about it? And what should she tell her mother?

She felt Linoone's burning gaze and turned to her friend for help. The Pokémon seemed to be battling with his emotions like she was; he was excited, yet pained and just sat on her floor looking at her, waiting for her decision.

"...I don't know what to do," she admitted to him and looked at the letter once again. "Should I open it, find some comfort in his thoughts, yet feel the same pain and agony as before? Or should I just hide it and try to forget about it?" she debated to herself, trying to think of every possible outcome that would happen whether she opened it or not.

Linoone huffed to get her attention back on him. Once her eyes were firmly on him, he made his way to the letter – still in her hands – and poked it with his head. He didn't care what it held, as long as she'd read it to him, he would be happy.

Dawn nodded and sighed before eyeing the letter. To be honest she was dieing to know what Damien had written, no matter how bad it would make her feel afterwards. She unfolded the single piece of paper and gulped loudly before she was able to concentrate on the letter.

"To Dawn, whenever you should find this letter and decide to read it..." she whispered the first words from her brother, trying to hold back her tears and keep her voice clear. Linoone sat quietly beside her, waiting patiently for her to continue.

"You have no idea how hard it is to write this letter to you or try to think how you'll react to it once you find it. Anyhow, it doesn't really matter now, because the fact of you finding this letter proves that dad and I failed. I'm dead and for that I'm sorry, Dawn."

She needed air. She had to get air!

Dawn let go of the letter, rushing to her window to fill her lungs with the cool evening air. She'd been taken completely off guard by her brother's words that she'd even forgotten to breath. She could feel the first tears start to make their way down her cheeks and she quickly wiped them with her hand.

She hadn't cried in over three years and she'd be damned if her record would be ruined by this letter. She stayed by the window for a moment to clear her head, enjoying the cool air, before she turned around to face Linoone. The Pokémon hadn't moved a muscle and was staring at the letter. It almost seemed as if he was guarding it so it couldn't disappear. Dawn walked slowly back to his side and grabbed the letter in her hands, re-sitting herself.

"…He's sorry that he's dead?" Dawn repeated quietly, trying to keep her voice firm. Linoone hung his head down, not knowing what to say. He was as confused as she. After a moment Dawn continued with the letter.

"I'm sorry for making you and mom go through a thing like that, dad is too. But don't get us wrong when I say that we don't regret it, the dying that is. We've accepted it as a possible outcome a long time ago. To be honest we both probably knew that we would die… Sorry."

She had to pause again to think things through. Damien knew he was going to die, her father too. How on earth could people even pretend to live their lives whilst knowing their days were numbered? It must have been really depressing and scary.

Dawn glanced at Linoone before continuing the letter.

"The next thing I'm going to tell you is something you absolutely can't tell anyone - especially mom. She'd have a heart attack if she knew about this letter even existing... Now listen up, 'kay lil sis?" Dawn held her breath as she kept reading, shocked by Damien's next words, totally bewildered.

"..The Pendant of Ampyr is REAL!" she whispered in disbelief. She held the letter tightly in her hands, checking the sentence over and over again, not believing her eyes."

"Shocked? You're not the only one; dad and I were also pretty taken back when we heard about it. We'd thought it was only a myth, a tale passed down from generations, a story. But sure enough, as far as myths go, there's always some truth in them."

"Have you ever heard the myth of Pyron? He was said to have made a number of special tiles, which would lead you to the pendant. The tiles were originally made to help find the pendant in a case of emergency, but obviously they attracted power hungry people, wanting to control the beast. This is why Pyron hid them across Sinnoh, trying to make it as difficult as possible to find them, thus protecting the pendant. Pyron also created 'The Crimson Heart', a piece of scarlet emerald said to share a link between the beast. This gem was essential to finding the hidden tiles."

"I think it's about time to let you in on what we were actually studying at the ruins, although you've probably already guessed about now. Yes, we were looking for 'The Crimson Heart', along with a dozen others. Our boss – Eyan, the grandson of a famous archeologist, – led the project with high hopes, employing some of the best researchers in Sinnoh to find it. He wanted to find the gem in honor of his grandfather, who'd searched for it his whole life. His own ambition was to find Pyron's tiles, which would lead him to Ampyr."

"Eyan was, well, an odd person, with a sharp tongue and short temper. You didn't have to do much to get him in a bad mood. We all found him a little strange, especially when he only showed up at the ruins for checkups, not taking part in the search himself. Because, you know, normally people want to do some of the work for themselves – at least I would."

"And then there were the disappearances of a few who'd been rumored to have found something to do with the gem. All of a sudden it seemed like everyone was disappearing and dad and I got suspicious that something wasn't right. Eyan seemed to be connected with the incidents somehow and we figured out we'd gotten mixed up in something really dangerous."

"And then it happened, the thing every archeologist dreams about. I found it; a blood-red stone with strange markings on it. I knew straight away what it was and decided then and there not to report about it. That night I showed it to dad and he agreed with me to keep it hidden for the time being. Dad had been spying on Eyan and his shady henchmen and he suspected that they were trying to find the gem in order to gain power of the beast. We knew it would have terrible consequences due to his nature and we couldn't let that happen."

"We tried to fight him by working day and night, searching for the tiles in order to find the pendant first but without any luck. Even with the gem in our possession it's impossible to leave the ruins for over a day. It's only a matter of time before they find out that we have the scarlet emerald and what we've been doing, well, at least tried to do. He's a cruel man, Dawn, so be careful."

Dawn stared at the paper, her eyes the size of plates and mouth open. Linoone braced himself for the worst.

"WHAT?" she shouted at the paper, totally confused with what she'd just read. What did he mean by 'be careful'? Was he actually telling her to continue whatever he and their dad had started? Did he actually believe that she would?

"I can't believe this!" she thought out loud, still looking at the paper. Linoone, who had backed up a bit in case she'd explode or something, had understood perfectly what Damien wished her to do. What he wished him to do. He remembered the day when Damien had left him with Dawn, telling him to keep her safe. He hadn't understood his last plead had held a deeper meaning to it before his death.

Dawn was still having problems deciding how she should feel about Damien's last words. She was totally freaked out by the fact that her brother and father had even attempted something so dangerous but at the same time she couldn't help but feel a bit proud.

She sighed, maybe she'd decide after finishing the letter. Refocusing on her brother's messy handwriting, she searched for the correct line and kept reading.

"I know this is too much to ask of you, dad would kill me if he ever knew I even mentioned it to you and for that I can't blame him. The reason you're reading this letter is because we failed, leaving our hard job to you. Please, if you value the world you're currently living in, then promise me this. You won't let anything happen to it. Promise you'll stop him before he destroys Sinnoh. And if not for your sake, then for all the people and Pokémon that inhabit it.

"Find the tiles. Find the pendant.

"Don't let them have it. I have no idea on how many years have passed since my death but I do know this; they're still looking for them. We haven't lost, so keep going! Make us proud!

"I can't help you look for the tiles but I can point you to the right direction. Dad and I think that the most likely place to find the first one is in Oreburgh City. The city is known for its mine and that sounds like a good place to start.

"That's as much as I can do. The next ones are all on you but they will be easier to find, trust me! Anyway, I've reached the limit of this sheet of paper (by the way I stole this from Eyan) so I guess this would be a good place to stop.

"Thank you for all the great years we spent together. I've learnt to cherish every moment and wouldn't change a thing between us. Remember that I'm always watching over you as well as dad! Dawn, you can do this!"

A single tear fell down her cheek as she read her brother's goodbye and heartwarming words. Damn, so she cried after all.

Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks, making it ever so difficult for her to read Damien's last words. She didn't actually care anymore that she was crying, in fact she barely even realized it anymore.

"See you in your dreams - Damien"

* * *

Johanna was absolutely exhausted as she dragged herself home, her Glameow greeting her happily as she opened the door. It had been a long day making the final preparations for the festival and now all she wanted was a good night's sleep. The festival would start at ten but the staff had to be present at eight, which meant one very tired and pissed off daughter.

She smiled at her Pokémon and stroked her gently behind her ear. Glameow purred contently, she'd been bored out of her head the entire day and was determined to follow her owner now that she'd returned.

"Did you have a good day Glameow?" Johanna asked the feline as she made her way to the kitchen. The cat meowed loudly, obviously very displeased.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't take you with me but you know the rules; no Pokémon. Good grief hasn't that girl eaten anything today?" she wondered in horror as she stared into the fridge, noticing nothing had been eaten.

She sighed and looked at Glameow. By the way she was acting, it seemed that Dawn had forgotten to feed her as well. Johanna frowned; it wasn't like Dawn to forget about things like that. She quickly opened a can of Glameow's favorite tuna as an apology and decided to go find her daughter.

"Dawn? Are you home, honey?" she called out and started making her way to the stairs, surprised to see her daughter standing in the midway of them. Her face was pale and she had a sad frown on her face. Johanna looked at her for awhile before taking a few steps towards her.

"Dawn, what's wrong?" she asked, wondering what had upset her daughter.

"Is it about the festival? I'm sorry but there's no way you can drop out of it now. There's no more time and yes I know you don't like to be the center of attention but…" she trailed on before Dawn stopped her.

"Mom..." she looked at her with serious eyes, voice firm and full of determination. Johanna figured it wasn't about the festival after all.

"I want to start my adventure."

"...What?" she asked in disbelief, not believing her ears. Ever since the day they heard about Michael and Damien, Dawn hadn't mentioned anything about wanting to leave home and set off on an adventure. She rarely ventured far from town, claiming she didn't have the right ambition to leave. And now, after fives years, she all of a sudden wanted to go. To leave Twinleaf. To leave her roots.

To leave her.

"You heard me mom. I want to go... I have to go!" she said seriously, trying to find the right words to express herself.

She knew her mother would get suspicious about her request; after all, she hadn't made any attempts to set off after that fateful day. She also knew well enough that if it was up to her mother, she'd probably stay in this town for the rest of her life.

Dawn mentally sighed to herself. Johanna (and probably everyone else in town) had always thought she didn't want to leave, that she didn't dare to leave.

But they were wrong. She wanted to leave, even without Damien's letter she would've still wanted to go. She hated her life here, hated how people looked and treated her as if she had some decease or something.

Johanna couldn't handle this right now. She was too tired and focused on the festival that she just didn't have the energy to talk to her daughter. She rubbed her temples and brushed past Dawn, who was still glued to the stairs. She had to be joking; did she seriously want to leave?

Johanna cursed to herself; out of all the days Dawn decided to tell her this, it had to be the day before the festival?

"Look, Dawn, it's already late and your obviously tired. We have a long day tomorrow so we better get some sleep, right? Let's talk about it after the festival if you still feel that way, okay? Now go eat something and go to bed..." she babbled on as she disappeared into her room, shutting the door behind her.

Dawn sighed; this was the way her mother always dealt with things she didn't want to talk about. Linoone huffed by her side and Dawn lowered herself down to his level, hugging him tightly.

"If it's what he wants us to do, we'll do it, right? We'll do it for them and for the people and Pokémon of Sinnoh," she murmured to him, seeking comfort from his breathing.


	5. Chapter 5

Hi again! I keeped my promise like I said and got the chapter finished in a few days. I loved to write this chapter after the last one, maybe because I've planned this one for so long :D And there's finally going to be more Paul! :DD

Thanks so much to my readers and reviewers! I get a new boost of confidence every time I read a review :) Trust me, this story is far from over! ;)

R&R, please enjoy! :)

* * *

The festival area was much bigger than she'd expected. There were numerous different shops and boutiques for as far as the eye could see, a Pokémon petting area, and even Pokémon-celebrities performing or just talking to people. And she hadn't even seen the battling area yet, talk about making the festival better than before.

Dawn walked calmly along the many isles of shops, marveling at all of the different colors and smells she picked up. The Twinleaf Festival sure had changed since she last visited it. Linoone, who was at the festival for the first time, trotted contently by her side and kept an eye on her. He knew all too well that her nerves would sooner or later get the better of her; causing her to do stupid things like lock herself in the bathroom or something. He mentally sighed, thinking of the coming day.

The clock slowly turned ten and people started to gather up in front of a large stage, just in the middle of the area. Dawn had no intention whatsoever to go even near the stage before her 'big moment' so she didn't even try to get a good place to listen to the opening speech and introductions.

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, please help me introduce you to our lovely festival-hostess, Johanna!" someone shouted from the speakers and the crowd went wild as Dawn saw her mother appear on stage.

"What? I didn't know mom would host the festival!" she turned to Linoone who had tried to get higher in order to see better. She snatched him off an angry Rhydon and placed him on her head.

"Thank you all, you're very kind!" Johanna thanked the cheering audience and signaled them to quiet down. She was wearing a simple white dress with a huge green brooch, resembling two leaves. She smiled a brilliant smile as she began her speech.

"Welcome to the twenty-fourth Twinleaf Festival! This year's festival is the biggest yet, having visitors from all across the Pokémon regions. The main event this year is the Twinleaf Tournament in which trainers compete against each other to settle the first ever Twinleaf Champion. The winner of this tournament will also get the rare opportunity to battle against Palmer, one of the Battle Frontiers! The festival consists from a large number of different shops and other entertainments to ensure there's enough for everyone. So, without further a due, let's get this show on the road!" Johanna shouted happily, once again earning the crowd's cheering.

Dawn couldn't suppress a smile; her mother was so good with people.

* * *

The tournament was set to start at precisely eleven so she still had time to wander around the festival area. She was interested in the battles and wanted to see if she could bet the winner. It would also be a great experience for her oncoming journey, even if she herself hadn't entered.

She found a nice, fairly quiet spot just by the side of the main area and sat on the lush green grass, not really caring if her clothes got stained. Linoone stretched himself to his full length as he lied next to her. It was nice and peaceful, just what they needed after walking in the huge masses of people all morning.

"It's nice huh Linoone? Nice and quiet?" she asked him while gazing up to the sky, trying to recognize different shapes in the clouds. Linoone huffed contently but tensed up almost straight away.

"Well if isn't Dawn!" a boy shouted happily, startling her. Her blue eyes locked with orange ones as the boy closed in on her, throwing his arms around her to hug her. She felt as if she was being suffocated.

"B-Barry?" she said surprised, trying to unlock his hands around her. The boy just laughed at her pathetic attempt and eventually let go.

"Surprised?" he smirked at her as she looked at her old friend. He was still wearing his old striped shirt and grey pants and his trade mark green scarf. He was now about a head taller than Dawn and she wondered how he'd gotten so tall.

"Well, yes and no..." she admitted truthfully and Barry gave her a questioning smirk.

"I knew you'd probably be here since there's that tournament and stuff but I didn't think I'd see you with all of these people here," she explained to him with a small smile. Barry has always been able to make her smile.

"Well duh! As if I could ever miss a chance like this! Think about it, to be the Champion of Twinleaf with all of these trainers from god knows where! And then there's that battle with my dad, of course. Man, I can't wait to battle him! It'll be a great chance to show off my super powerful and cool Pokémon!" he went on and on and Dawn mentally sighed.

Yep, it's the same old Barry alright. The boy could never stop once he'd started talking about his 'insanely strong and cool' Pokémon and Dawn just pretended to listen to his endless babbling. She wasn't particularly annoyed with him; after all it had been years since they'd seen each other so who wouldn't brag a little about their Pokémon?

"Oh yeah Dawn, did you ever set off on a journey? I heard you were delayed or something? Was it true?" he shot out of the blue, not paying any attention to her facial expressions. Her smile was completely gone as she frowned at him; the blonde now noticing her change of mood.

"Oh, did I say something I shouldn't have? Come on, please tell me! I've felt as if I'm talking to myself here! Hey, isn't that Damien's Linoone?" he whined at her, giving her a fake angry pout before realizing he'd only made the situation worse.

Dawn stared at the ground, trying to hide the hurt on her face. This was the thing with Barry; one minute he could make you laugh your pants off, the next he'd blurt out something totally improper without even realizing it himself. Linoone gave her a worried look before focusing on Barry, glaring at him angrily.

"...Um, I... I..." she tried to find the right words to match what she was feeling. What should she even say? That he was right? Wrong? God this was stupid!

Barry was becoming more and more impatient by the second. He was dying to know what had happened to her during the years they hadn't seen each other. God, had it really been five years?

"You know I don't have all day here Dawn so just spill it out already," he whined, tapping his foot very annoyingly on the ground. Linoone was just about to lunge at him when Dawn suddenly raised her head and yelled at Barry almost at the peak of crying.

"No! Why should I tell you? You weren't here! You couldn't understand! I don't have to talk about it to anyone, not to you, and defiantly not to that stupid therapist!" she screamed at him and backed away when he tried to touch her. Barry was totally taken aback from her outburst, utterly shocked by her reaction. He remembered her as a sweet and caring girl, not as a psycho.

He stared at her helplessly as she began to hug herself, trying to calm down. She realized everyone near them had just witnessed her sudden outburst and she was terrified. This was the reason she never went to these kinds of events, people couldn't keep their noses out of her business and were constantly asking her questions about her life. With nothing else to do, she fled the scene, diving into the crowd with Linoone right on her heals. Barry was left all alone as he tried to call for her, trying to spot her blue hair from the crowd but without any luck. She'd disappeared.

* * *

Dawn ran past the swarms of people who were checking out the different shops and food cantinas on the festival area. For some reason she felt she needed to keep moving, setting free all of her bad mood through the run. The speed felt good and she could feel her mind clearing up, thus she gradually slowed down. Linoone had stayed right by her side the entire time, enjoying the run as much as she had.

They finally slowed down to a walk and found themselves at the side on the tournament fields. People had already started to gather around them and trainers were warming up for the battles. Dawn spotted an extremely young and nervous boy fidgeting around with his pokeballs, this must have been his first tournament. She studied him a bit closer; the boy couldn't have been older than twelve. She wondered how he'd even gotten to this situation in the first place; maybe his parents had pushed him or something.

She walked along the sides of the fields, trying to spot any of the people she knew and to see some rare Pokémon not found in Sinnoh. She also wanted to test herself by trying to guess the winner but of course that would be easier once she saw them battle.

She reached the end of the field just as someone tapped a microphone to hush the crowd. Dawn recognized the blonde haired man walking to the middle of a field, microphone in hand, beginning his speech. She sat down on a nearby rock, placing Linoone on her head once more.

"May I have your attention please! It's eleven and the Twinleaf Tournament will start in a few short minutes! The rules of this tournament are simple; the first rounds will be one against one, with the winner moving on to the next round. The final will be three against three, switching is allowed . The winner of this battle will have the extraordinary chance to battle me, the Tower Tycoon Palmer!" he introduced himself proudly and smirked when the crowd started cheering. Dawn sighed, knowing Barry his father was just like him, presumably even worse.

"Yes, this is a great honor for the winner to battle me and my unbeatable Pokémon. In all my years as a Frontier Brain I've battled my fair share of battles and only few have proved better than me. Let's see if today's winner will fall in defeat or stand his ground against me." Palmer babbled on and on as the crowd became even more excited.

"Why don't you show us your 'undefeatable' Pokémon now that your on the run?" she muttered to herself, earning a faint giggle from Linoone.

"Oh come on Dawn, you know dad wouldn't do that. Even I don't know which Pokémon he uses nowadays," Barry said with a smirk on his face, similar to his father's.

Dawn jumped up from the rock, frightened out of her wits. When had he gotten here so quietly? She could feel her face light up from embarrassment as she remembered how she'd sprinted off. She felt so stupid.

"But anyways, the battle against me shall be a one on one to determine which one of us is the strongest and the most skilled…" Palmer had finally gotten to the rules and Dawn pretended to listen to him whilst sitting beside Barry.

She still didn't know what to say to him. If he'd ask her something, she'd have to make a run for it again. And as sure enough as the sun sets to the west; Barry couldn't keep his mouth shut.

"Why'd you rush off like that just then? I mean, if you didn't want to talk to me you could've just said so. I know how lousy it must be here when you could… Hey where're you running? Dawn, slow down! I'll lose you if you don't slow down!" he yelled after her as she'd made a run for it, sprinting into the first crowd she saw.

She looked behind to see if she'd been fortunate enough to lose him; she hadn't. Maybe a few more laps around the fields would discourage him?

She turned to check on him once more before her escape came to a stop. There was a loud 'bang' as she ran right into someone, sending herself flying backwards and landing on her side. Linoone was lucky enough not to have been flattened.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't see you and..." she began to apologize but was interrupted with a loud huff.

"Maybe if you'd keep your eyes on the road you wouldn't run into people in the first place..." a bitter, familiar voice answered.

She raised her gaze from the ground and met harsh black eyes and cursed to herself. It was that guy!

Her head went blank; she defiantly didn't want to see him now! She was still feeling a bit guilty for not thanking him about the Ursaring incident but after a reaction like that she really didn't feel like thanking him.

She was still lying on the ground when she spotted someone behind the purple haired guy. It was a girl, presumably her age, dressed in a tiny pink top and white mini skirt. Her strawberry blonde hair was tied up loosely with a huge white ribbon and she had a very childish look to her. Dawn recognized her instantly.

"Well looky here, if it isn't Dawny. How've you been? Got any seizures recently?" she spoke in a childish voice and tugged onto the guy's arm.

"That's the girl I've been telling you about Pauly, she's nuts!" she smiled at him, giving Dawn a nasty look.

"Kelley..." Dawn greeted the girl, anger building up inside her. She'd never really liked her due to the girl's horrible personality. She'd had a hobby of making up rumors about her, always going for things she knew made her upset. God she hated her!

The girl laughed happily while still clinging to the boy's arm. Dawn could see he was getting really pissed off.

"I heard from a friend that you just suddenly lost it and started screaming about something a moment ago. Oh, and then you ran away, just like you were doing now. Was it true?" she smiled wickedly at her.

Dawn felt everyone's eyes on her, pinning her to the ground. She was so angry that she couldn't even think straight, trembling all over her body. Linoone had bravely stepped in front of her and was giving Kelley a wild death glare. He'd be giving her a taste of his Iron Tail if she said just one more word to upset Dawn.

"Hey Dawn, there you are! I thought I lost you with all this crowd and stuff. Why are you just lying on the ground? Come on, I'll help you up!" Barry was suddenly by her side again, pulling her to her feet. It looked like nothing could keep him away. Dawn looked at him slightly embarrassed.

"Um, thanks..." she said, noticing he was still holding her hand. The boy smiled happily.

"It's nothing, but don't go running off like that anymore, okay? You've still not answered any of my questions and I don't have much time before my battle starts..." he grinned at her.

Kelley cleared her throat, making everyone turn to her. Barry seemed shocked to see her, as if he hadn't even noticed she was there in the first place.

"Hi Barry! How've you been? Wow, I can't believe it's been almost three years since we last saw each other!" she said amazed, jumping up and down in her spot. Barry gave her a short look before frowning.

"Have we met?" he asked confusedly, making Dawn giggle a bit for the look Kelley gave. The girl was shocked, totally bewildered that he didn't know her. Dawn knew she has had a crush on him when they were young but apparently Barry didn't even remember her. This made Dawn smile just a bit.

Kelley had already recovered from her state of shock and was smiling happily at Barry.

"I'm Kelley, remember? We set off on the same day five years ago; I started with my sister's Clamperl and you with Piplup!" she tried to refresh his memory before looking at Dawn.

"And if I remember correctly, Dawn was supposed to go with us, well, at least leave on the same day. Whatever happened to you anyway? You ran out of the lab like crazy right after we'd left!" she gave her a false worried look. When Dawn didn't answer, she decided to take things to a different level. Kelley pointed at Linoone with a smirk on her face.

"That isn't yours, is it? You've never even been outside Twinleaf, not to mention Sinnoh. So how on earth did you get a Linoone?"

That was it! She couldn't hold it back anymore; she didn't care if people thought she was psycho after witnessing what was going to happen. She had a plan and if it meant she'd be faced with murder, she didn't care.

Barry was having a hard time trying to control her but it was no use. Just as she balled her fists and was going to hit Kelley, she was interrupted by a very irritated, very pissed off voice.

"Do you EVER shut up?" the purple haired guy spat at Kelley, forcing her to get off of him. He shoved his hands into his pockets and looked at the girl with disgust. Kelley looked like she'd been hit with a log, she was totally dumbfounded.

"You should know when people don't want anything to do with you, especially when all _you_ do is talk crap behind their backs. I seriously can't stand it anymore!" he stared at the girl with cold, emotionless eyes, his voice low and demanding. The look that he gave her paralyzed her and all she could do was look away.

"Now, if you don't mind, I'm off..." he murmured and started walking to the fields. Dawn, Barry and Kelley were all left gaping like a school of Magikarp before they were awakened by an announcement.

"The third group of first rounders will start in five minutes! Challengers are asked to take their places on the correct field!"

"Oh Feebas! I'm up next!" Barry shouted and started running to the fields, pulling Dawn with him.

"You'll root for me, right Dawn?" he asked her hopefully while guiding her through the crowd. They reached field number four in a matter of minutes.

"Um, sure thing Barry... Hope you win..." she answered awkwardly as she pulled her hand free from his. Barry smirked confidently and made his way to the other end of the field.

"It'll be a piece of cake, just trust me! No one has stronger Pokémon than me!" she could hear him yell before he got too far.

She sighed and looked at Linoone, who was really starting to get annoyed with all of the running and hiding. She smiled at him and picked him up, searching for a good place to watch all of the battles.

"Might as well cheer for him, for old times sake… And he was fun to be around, it's not his fault he didn't know..." she tried to convince him, but really needed it for herself as well.

She found a nice spot on a hillside next to the fields where the largest group of the audience was observing the battles. She sat down on the grass and let Linoone sit on her head as they watched the trainers shake hands and take their places on each field. She wondered how many groups there were in the first round, obviously with the swarms of trainers there had to be a lot more after this.

The bell rang, signaling the battles to start and the trainers sent out their Pokémon, causing the fields to glow red. Dawn spotted Barry on the fourth field and he waved to her happily. She gave him a thumbs up and focused on the battle.

Barry's first battle was against 'Colin from Dewford Town, Hoenn and his Machoke. Barry, as expected, started off with his Empoleon which gave Colin the upper hand. Barry hung on in spite of the odds and won relatively easily with just a single Hydro Pump, whilst Colin didn't even have time to dodge it. Dawn couldn't help but smile, maybe Barry was as strong as he bragged.

Since Barry's battle had been over in seconds, Dawn had more than enough time to watch the others. The first field was covered in ice as a Walrein tried to hit a very energetic Minun without much luck. The small electric Pokémon was just too fast for it and attacked it with electric-moves whenever his trainer commanded it. The fairly young girl was having the time of her life encouraging her Pokémon to use Spark over and over again.

On the next field Dawn could see Kelley battle with a middle aged man. She was in heat of battle, having her Mawile against the man's Skuntank. Dawn really hoped she wouldn't win but sure enough, she did.

"Ladies and gentlemen, if I could turn your attention to field number seven, where Paul from Veilstone City is battling Yasmin of Violet City!" an announcer called out, pointing to the horrible beating that was taking place on one of the fields.

Dawn gasped when she recognized the purple haired boy on the far end of the field, looking bored out of his head. His Aggron was destroying Yasmin's poor Seviper, Aggron looking as bored as his trainer. The poison-type didn't have a chance against it and was literally being stomped on. It was quite cruel, yet it showed the other's incredible strength. Once the snake couldn't battle anymore, Paul called his Aggron back and slipped into the crowd, showing no emotion whatsoever.

Dawn just stared into the crowd and tried to pinpoint the purple haired guy. So his name was Paul? Hm, of course he was taking part in the tournament and if he kept battling like that, he'd be a likely winner.

Moreover, she owed him a thank you, actually two. She began making her way to the direction Paul had disappeared to but was stopped by Kelley, who'd suddenly appeared in front of her. She was smirking at her, having her Mawile beside her. This wasn't good.

"And just where do you think you're going? I still have some things to discuss with you Dawn!" she glared at her and forced her to follow her to a quieter place. Dawn had a bad feeling about the fact that they were almost isolated from everyone else and mentally prepared herself. She knew Kelley all too well.

"First of all explain to me why you're stealing all my men?" she gave her a nasty look as she started to circle her. Linoone hissed, keeping a close eye on Mawile. Kelley stopped in front of her, pointing a finger at her.

"Is it because you don't get enough 'love' and 'affection' at home anymore? Tell me the truth, have you really gone as crazy as they all say or were you always like that? Well, Dawn? Tell me!" she kept harassing her, poking her with her finger like she was some kind of toy.

This was it! There was no one here to stop her from making the world free of that horrible blonde. Dawn balled up her hands into fists and looked at Kelley fiercely.

"If you touch me again I swear I'll break your hand," she warned her, instantly making her pull her hand back. The girl seemed a little amused from the reaction she got.

"Oh will you now?" she laughed and took a step backwards, reaching for a pokeball on her belt. She was obviously going to choose something strong enough to beat both Linoone and Dawn. She braced herself for the worse.

"Using your Pokémon to bully someone means you're weak..." a harsh voice interrupted them just as Kelley was gripping a pokeball. Dawn could feel her heart skip a beat as she recognized the all too familiar voice as she turned around. Her blue eyes met black ones, hiding depressed emotions behind them. Before either of the girls could say a thing, Paul went on.

"Furthermore, bullying someone is enough to make you weak.. And I hate weakness!" he gave Kelley a death glare, causing her to let go of her pokeball. She stayed paralyzed for a moment before she recovered, signaling her Mawile to follow her back into the crowd.

Dawn just kept staring at him, once again resembling a Magikarp. She didn't know what to do.

"Hmph, pathetic girl..." Paul muttered as he made his leave, once again disappearing into the crowd. This made Dawn recover instantly. Without a second thought she sprinted after him, determened not to lose sight of him. She caught up very quickly and called out to him.

"Hey, wait up!" she grabbed his sleeve, making the boy turn around. His face showed no emotion as he glanced at her before he opened his mouth.

"Weak and troublesome…" he muttered to himself, glaring at her hand, looking like he'd snap it off.

He could've as well slapped her on the face.

"WHAT?" Dawn yelled at him, not believing her ears. What was with this guy; first he saved her, and then he looks down to her? And she thought she couldn't get more pissed off.

"You heard me, you're weak... Can't even fight your own battles, always needing to be rescued… So troublesome..." he didn't really seem to be talking to her, more like just mumbling to himself.

"Now look here mister! I'm not weak; I know damn well how to fight on my own so I don't need to 'be rescued' from guys like you! What is it with you anyway, always showing up when I'm 'in trouble'?" she questioned him, suddenly remembering her original thoughts about thanking him.

Paul just huffed and pulled himself free, continuing his way back to the fields. Dawn wasn't going to give up that easily; she ran after him and got a hold of his arm. The boy was beginning to get very irritated with her.

"What?" he snapped at her, turning around ready to give her a nasty look. Dawn bit her lip as she mustered all of her courage to look him in the eye.

"Thank you!" she said softly, saying the words from the bottom of her heart. Her sudden change off mood took Paul off guard and he completely forgot about what he'd planned to do.

With a new found courage, Dawn was able to smile whilst thanking him.

"I felt guilty for not thanking you about saving me from the Ursaring and for sticking up for me when Kelley asked me all those stupid questions... I was actually on my way to thank you when I ran into her again and well, you saved me again... So thanks!" she was still looking him in the eye and couldn't see any change in them. That guy must have been made of ice or something!

"Don't mention it, it's not like I was looking for you or anything. I just got pulled into those situations, that's all..." he replied and checked his watch.

"Yeah but…" she started but got cut off.

"I said don't mention it. Ever," he snapped and began making his way back to the fields. Dawn was left dumbfounded. She looked at Linoone who had observed their conversation curiously. The Pokémon couldn't make up his mind about the guy.

"Well, that went well, huh?" she sighed and checked the time.

"Barry's next battle will start soon, we should probably go find him..." she thought out loud and began walking to the fields.

* * *

Barry's next few battles were just too easy for him as he won within minutes. The same could be said about Paul, who had decided to battle with his Monferno instead of his Aggron, which would've just destroyed all the rest. Dawn guessed he'd started off with him to see what kind of battles he was up against, clearly disappointed by the strength of his opponents. Sure enough, Monferno didn't lose a single battle.

Barry was still battling with his Empoleon and was doing very well even if he happened to have a disadvantage. Dawn was starting to suspect either Barry or Paul would win the tournament, although there were still many skilled trainers left.

Barry had just finished his fourth battle and tagged along with Dawn before his next one.

"Hey you wanna go eat something? You've been watching the battles all day and I didn't see you eat anything. I could kill for a slice of pizza!" Barry suggested and pointed to a small pizza stand. Dawn nodded although she wasn't really hungry.

The prize ceremony was in less then two hours and she could feel her nerves get the better of her as every minute pasted by.

"Great! I'll pay since I've won so much money from all of those battles. Empoleon's just dominating everyone, it's in really good shape from all of my training with it..." Barry went on about his 'superior training skills' and Dawn once again pretended to listen to her energetic friend.

"May I have your attention please! The semifinal rounds will start in five minutes; the first one between Twinleaf's own little Kelley and Paul from Veilstone, the second between Shawn from Hearthome and Barry from Twinleaf. Trainers are advised to take their places on field three!" an announcer spoke happily into his microphone, causing utter chaos in the audience. Barry hadn't even seemed to notice how late it had been and Dawn started pulling the confused boy to the fields.

"Barry you don't know how quickly the first battle will end and if you're on the other side of the area eating pizza you'll ruin your 'big chance'! Now get in there and start warming up!" she pushed him forwards onto the field, earning a few smiles from passerbys. Barry sighed.

"Oh come on Dawn, you could've let me eat first. I'll blame you if I collapse during the final!" he taunted her and Dawn stuck her tongue out at him.

"It's your own fault for not eating during the long break. I can't believe your older than me!" she answered him before she started looking for a place to sit. She finally found one, just by the field, when a bell rang to signal the start of the first battle.

She cursed at the fact that Kelley had gotten this far in the tournament but was relieved that her opponent was Paul. She knew he'd beat her, no doubt about that. The audience started cheering for their favorites and Dawn couldn't control herself when Kelley gave her a nasty look. She really wanted Paul to crush her. Without a second thought, she stood up from her seat and yelled from the top of her lungs.

"Kick her sorry little ass back to wherever she came from Paul! Crush her! Destroy her! I'll be rooting for you!" she called out to him, punching the air and stomping the ground.

Everyone around glanced at her and tried to hide their smiles. It was then when she finally realized what she'd said, feeling the weird stares she was receiving. Her voice had pierced through everyone else's so the whole tournament area heard what she'd said.

Dawn hid her face in her hands, feeling more embraced than ever before.

"God, I could just die!" she whispered to herself shamefully. She'd happily faced that huge Ursaring right about now.

Paul gave her an awkward look, not knowing what to think of her – well - interesting cheer. He could see her crimson blush even from his stop – about thirty meters away – and knew she felt just as awkward as he did. He finally just decided to drop it and focused on the battle.

Since Kelley was from Twinleaf, she got to choose her Pokémon first. She'd obviously seen Paul's monstrous Aggron, figuring he'd use it, so she sent out her Poliwrath, giving her type advantage.

This only caused Paul to smirk harshly and Kelley to flinch. She knew that kind of look couldn't mean a sure fire victory; well, at least for her.

Paul eyed the Poliwrath for a second before glancing quickly at the audience, smirking once his eyes met blue ones. Well, if he was told to beat this girl, then he might as well set it into overkill. Oh yes, he was going to destroy her alright.

He gave Kelley one last leer before reaching for his belt, grabbing a black pokeball with a golden center and a single red ring on its top. Everyone held their breaths, waiting anxiously for what kind of Pokémon the Luxury Ball held inside.

"Bad choice..." Paul murmured as he threw the ball onto the field, causing it to open with a horrible shriek.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **Don't say anything, I know it's been way too long since my last update. God, I can't believe it's been over half a year... I'm SO sorry you all, guess I just forgot about this fic but now I'm back with a new chapter. I hope you like it, it was nice writing this again :) Thanks a bunch to everyone who reviewed and put the fic on story alert, they really kept me going!

I'm not quite sure how often I can update during the next month because I have to study for my matriculation examinations but I'll try to write as often as possible!

Once again thanks to all my readers who've had the patients to follow this story! Oh yeah, and I'm sorry if the battles suck, they're clearly not my speciality ^^'

* * *

**Chapter 6**

The Luxury Ball snapped back into Paul's outstretched hand as the Pokémon it held started to materialize on the field. His face was completely emotionless as the Pokémon finally took its form.

Dawn gasped as she recognized the Pokémon; it was blue, four legged and massive. Really massive! Its eyebrows, neck and the underside of its tail were red and it had a grey armor-like belly. Its fangs and claws were long and sharp, which were more than enough to make it intimidating. The Pokémon eyed its opponent, leering at it whilst flapping its huge red wings.

"A Salamence…" she whispered in amazement, as did everyone else, a few trainers looking it up with their Pokedexes. Salamence wasn't exactly common in Sinnoh, to say the least.

The huge dragon Pokémon glanced quickly at its trainer, who gave it a swift nod, before it turned back to the Poliwrath and roared furiously. The Poliwrath took a few steps backwards and eyed its trainer a little discouraged.

Dawn couldn't blame it for doing so; the massive dragon simply screamed danger, even without its ability 'Intimidate'. Any sane being would've acted the same, heck she'd ran as far away from it as possible if it was her on the field! She wondered how Paul had the guts to order it around when the Pokémon could snap off his head in just one bite.

Kelley was done playing sweet and innocent; she knew this battle would be quick and gruesome if Paul had his way. She balled up her fists and looked at her Pokémon straight in the eye.

"Don't let that big show-off scare you! I know we can beat him even if we are in a disadvantage. I want to win this tournament and no one's going to stop me!" she yelled at it, giving it much needed confidence. The Poliwrath punched the air in agreement and turned around, ready for battle. It gave the Salamence its toughest look whilst the blue dragon hissed at it wildly.

Dawn now regretted a little for telling – no, more like demanding – Paul to destroy Kelley. Heck, she hadn't even known the male trainer would've even listened to her in the first place! As much as she hated Kelley, even she didn't deserve this kind of a beating… Well, maybe a little. But still, Paul's Salamence would utterly annihilate her Poliwrath and if it was lucky, wouldn't get killed in the process.

The referee glanced quickly at the two trainers before he swung a huge green flag towards the ground, signaling the battle begun.

"You attack first," Paul bluntly stated and crossed his arms, a fierce look in his eyes. He knew her Poliwrath wouldn't have any hope of even damaging his Salamence but he figured it would be more entertaining – at least for him. Since when had he really gotten to toy around lately anyway? All of his battles before had been too easy and he was slightly disappointed how weak all of his opponents had been.

Kelley shot him a forced grin before she started giving her Pokémon commands.

"Poliwrath, start off with Bulk Up and then use Dynamic Punch!" she shouted to the Pokémon with a determent facial expression. The tadpole Pokémon boosted up its attack and defense before it ran up to its opponent, fist glowing, and tried to land a punch on it.

The audience held their breaths as they waited to hear Paul's orders. And soon enough, with the Poliwrath not even half way through the field, Paul opened his mouth.

"In the air," he told the dragon, sounding a little bored but obviously focused on the battle.

The Salamence did as it was told and spread its huge red wings before rising ten feet in the air. Kelley commanded her Poliwrath to jump but the dragon was too high for it to land a hit on it. She figured her Poliwrath had no chance to attack it physically whilst the dragon was airborne, and quickly ordered it to back up a bit and prepare itself.

Dawn could see how concerned and angry she was about her situation, yet Dawn herself really only thought about the Pokémon. She could feel the rest of the audience start to take Kelley's side in the battle as the long silence was finally broken with murmuring and cheering.

"I sure hope that Kelley-girl wins, she's always been such a nice little girl," an elderly woman near by whispered to her companion and nodded to Dawn's direction.

"That loony girl sure keeps on giving Kelley trouble! It'd be best to send her to some clinic far away with all the things I've heard of…" she didn't even try to lower her voice when Dawn caught her eye. The two women gave her a glance before turning back to face the battle and gossip some more. Their conversation had been heard by several others who too gave her doubtful looks.

Dawn forcefully yanked her blue eyes to set back onto the field, where Paul had finally decided not to carry on the battle longer than it was necessary. She tried to focus on the battle but couldn't shake off the stares on her back.

Linoone gave her a worried look before turning to hiss at the people still staring at the blue haired girl. She grabbed the normal type Pokémon and placed him on her head.

"Linoone you don't have to bother, it's useless anyways…" she whispered to him as thing started to warm up on the battlefield, literally.

Paul had just commanded his Salamence to use Flamethrower on the part water type Pokémon and the huge dragon hit its mark with ease. Kelley was obviously counting on resisting the attack enough so that she could attack next. Her Poliwrath had taken the hit straight on but seemed to still have enough energy. Kelley's expression lightened.

"Now Poliwrath, use Ice Beam! Try to hit the wings so it'll be stuck on the ground!" she encouraged her Pokémon and pointed at the wide red wings that were obviously crucial for the dragon.

The Poliwrath shot the Ice Beam in the air towards its opponent, earning a disappointed sighs from the audience as it missed its target by mere inches. Dawn unconsciously let out a sigh of relief, the last thing this day would've needed was Kelley beating someone like Paul.

Paul didn't seem to be too surprised about the ice type move and gave his next order.

"Finish that pathetic thing with Dragon Claw," he merely huffed. Dawn noticed he hadn't moved a single muscle for the entire battle.

"Keep on those Ice Beams Poliwrath!" Kelley shouted and the water/fighting type shot several beams of ice towards the dragon though without much luck.

The Salamence hit it in a matter of seconds with its long sharp claws, finally knocking out its poor opponent. It stayed up in the air for a while before landing in the same spot it'd been released and gave out a loud shriek.

The audience sighed disappointedly as Kelley and Paul called back their Pokémon, with Paul disappearing soon after while Kelley stayed paralyzed on the other side.

Dawn could tell she was seriously upset about her loss but at the same time knew she'd known she couldn't match a Salamence, at least with a water/fighting type. After a moment she too exited the field, giving room for the next semifinal round.

Barry was as pumped up as ever as he took his spot on the field. He gave Dawn a huge grin and waved his hands excitedly upon noticing her and she replied with another thumbs up. On the other side the other semifinalist took his stand, looking just as enthusiastic as Barry.

Shawn from Hearthome was all in all quite similar to Barry, although having light brown hair and green eyes. He had a green jacket and loose black jeans, which he kept on with a light brown belt. His pokeballs were pinned tightly on one side whilst the other side had been taken over by various chains and gadgets.

Dawn smiled as she noticed how similar then actually looked like. She wondered if they shared the same personality as well. She chuckled at the thought of another Barry, it would've been more then Sinnoh could take.

The boys didn't seem to notice anything 'weird' about the other as they looked at each other before the referee signaled the battle to begin. All eyes were on the two, the events of the previous battle clearly forgotten.

Barry was the first to act sending in his faithful Empoleon, his challenger sending in his own starter Infernape. The two Sinnoh starters stared at each other intensely before their trainers started giving them orders.

"Okay Empoleon! Let's start off with a Hydro Pump!" Barry yelled enthusiastically as the dual water/steel type fired a huge water attack towards the Infernape. Shawn however was quick to counter the attack.

"Get out of the way and use Mach Punch!" he in turn yelled to his starter, balling his hands into fists and punching the air.

The Infernape managed to evade the super-effective attack and closed in the Empoleon with blinding speed.

"Use Aqua Jet to avoid it and then attack!" Barry ordered, trying to out-speed the fire/fighting type. Shawn however didn't seem worried.

"Don't think you'd ever out-speed my Infernape… Infernape, let's give them a taste of what speed's really about!"

Barry's Aqua Jet-evasion had worked but as his Empoleon was closing in to attack the Infernape, it wasn't there anymore. The crowd was in awe, no one had even seen the fire/fighting type move before it was gone. Barry gritted his teeth as he watched as his Pokémon stopped its attack. There was an eerie silence.

"Don't lose your guard! Get that Aqua Jet going as soon as you spot something!" he instructed his Pokémon as the seconds went by.

The Infernape suddenly appeared right by its wary opponent and before the water/steel type could react, the fire/fighting type hit it with a powerful Mach Punch, the force of it enough to send the Empoleon flying across the air. No one could deny the Infernape was fast as well as strong.

Barry raised his fists up in the air and jumped up and down annoyed.

"What the..? I'll fine you for that!" he shouted before focusing on the battle once more. He knew it took a lot more then one punch to beat his Empoleon and he took a step forward as he instructed his Pokémon.

"You okay Empoleon? Okay, let's even up the stats by using Ice Beam, let's go!" he shouted and punched the air.

"Just don't let it hit you and we'll be fine!" Shawn shouted to his starter as his opponent shot a huge beam of ice at them. The Infernape dodged the move easily and Shawn wondered why Barry had even tried it out in the first place with ice being useless against his Pokémon. Empoleon kept launching frigid beams at the other without much success. Barry however didn't seem worried at all, on the contrary; the boy had a hard time controlling his smile as the field began looking more like a frozen lake then anything else.

Shawn soon realized his starter had less and less room to move without stepping on the slippery ice, forcing it to move slower and clumsier on the field. It looked like it was having difficulty even staying on the field for that matter as it started to slide on the ice.

"So that's his plan…" he murmured as he thought about a new strategy. He could always melt the ice but it would take too long and give his opponent a chance to strike back.

"There's just too much ice… Damn, if I'd figured out his plan sooner, now I'm stuck battling on a skating ring…" he continued to think out loud as he observed what his opponent would do next.

Barry grinned widely when his plan had worked and prepared for his next attack.

"Nice work Empoleon, now it's our time to show him who's stronger! Give him a Hydro Pump!" he ordered and pointed at the slightly baffled fire/fighting type.

With that Empoleon unleashed the powerful water attack and hit its opponent dead on. Barry smirked and turned to face Shawn, amusement covering his face.

"There's no way your Infernape could deal with an attack like that. Just goes to show who picked the better starter, huh?" he laughed. His joy was short as his opponent let out a smirk and the audience gasped. Barry turned his attention back to the battlefield and couldn't believe his eyes when the Infernape was still standing up. It glared at its water/steel type attacker with water dripping from its fur. The flame on its head was small but seemed to burn more violently then before. Barry gritted his teeth.

"How's that even possible? Fine, fine, fine!" he shouted in lack of better words.

Dawn felt sorry for her friend but couldn't hold back her amazement towards Shawn's Infernape. He'd obviously trained it well as it could withstand a super-effective attack like Hydro Pump. Barry's behavior though was beginning to get on her nerves; the boy just couldn't stand being wrong. She stood up from her seat and placed her hands around her mouth to amplify her voice as she encouraged her friend.

"Stop acting like a spoilt brat and focus Barry! You got this, just fight!" she shouted, her voice reaching his ears despite everyone else in the audience roaring and cheering. The two older women from before gave her a glance as they started to gossip again.

"So now she decides to cheer for a Twinleafer?" they mumbled but she just ignored them. The only thing on her mind now was her childish friend and she prayed he'd get his act together before it was too late. She knew he could very well lose the battle even though he had the upper hand.

Barry seemed to have heard her as he calmed down in an instant and Dawn could picture him mentally slapping himself. With a quick movement of his hand, he pointed at the Infernape and gave his starter his next commands.

"Lets finish this Empoleon, Aqua Jet!" he shouted confidently. He knew the fire/fighting type couldn't last another super-effective attack and he wasn't going to miss his chance to end the battle.

"Quick Infernape, counter it with Thunder Punch!" Shawn punched the air with a determent expression as the two Sinnoh starters collided. They both shrieked in pain as they both got electrocuted by the intense attack and got shot across the field in opposite directions. Infernape seemed to have survived the collision better then Empoleon, the water/steel type having difficulty standing up. Barry couldn't believe the outcome and was getting more irritated by the second.

"What? How on earth does your Infernape know how to use Thunder Punch?" he asked baffled whilst trying to estimate his Empoleon's state. It looked like both of the Pokémon would go down within the next strike and he was determent to be the one delivering it.

Shawn smirked as he watched his opponent get swept by his emotions.

"Guess I hit the jackpot when I realized Infernape had an additional egg-move when I picked him. Who'd you say had the better starter again?" he laughed and looked at his starter to give him his final orders.

"Listen up Infernape. Empoleon's done as long as we can land a hit on it," he said and his Pokémon nodded. Shawn gave him a wide grin as he decided his last move, not even needing to say it out loud as the Infernape understood what to do. It turned its attention back to the Empoleon that was struggling to stand.

"Come on Empoleon, you gotta get ready to counter what ever they throw at us!" Barry tried to encourage his Pokémon knowing all too well how the battle would end if they couldn't attack back. He knew his Pokémon was a born fighter and never gave up, usually helping them get out of tough spots with ease. The Empoleon found new strength from his trainer's words and managed to stand up straight right before Shawn gave his command.

"Let's finish this off with Flame Wheel!" Shawn shouted whilst smirking and watched as his Pokémon covered itself in fire before starting to roll right at its opponent in a blinding speed, the ice underneath melting away in a blink of the eye.

Barry reacted to the attack within milliseconds, his mind set only in the battle as the audience started to roar and cheer even loader, the battle being the most exciting and interesting of the day. Dawn too yelled and cheered for her friend who seemed to battle for his life.

"Hydro Pump!" he yelled intensely as their opponent closed in. He was sure it couldn't evade the move anymore.

Empoleon launched a huge amount of water from itself, the attack advancing towards the equally huge ball of fire. Barry almost let out a snicker when Shawn shot his hand to the side and opened his mouth.

"Curve to the right Infernape!" he yelled, leaving Barry stunned as he watched the huge fire ball evade the powerful Hydro Pump by indeed changing its angle before smashing into the equally surprised Empoleon.

Barry could only watch as his Pokémon was flown twenty feet backwards from the hit before the water/steel type was encircled by a dirt-cloud. Everyone in the audience held their breaths as the cloud finally faded, revealing a feinted Empoleon.

After a moment the crowd acknowledged the winner and cheered as he raced onto the field to hug his Pokémon. Dawn too clapped; she couldn't believe she'd just witnessed such a battle. She had to give Shawn some credit despite beating her friend; it just showed who had the better attitude towards battling.

Barry returned his loyal companion back into his pokeball before walking up to Shawn. The boys glanced at each other before Barry stretched out his hand and gave him a bittersweet smile.

"I guess there's no point denying that you got me, eh? Anyways, great battle!" he congratulated the other boy as they shook hands.

"Yeah, great battle dude, haven't been challenged like that in a while," he grinned in response before they exited the field.

* * *

Dawn hold onto Linoone as she tried to find Barry from the packed festival area. The final would take place in about half an hour so the two finalists could prepare their selves and the audience could take a break to eat and such. Dawn would've preferred for the battles to continue as soon as possible and with nothing better to do, she figured she'd go cheer up her friend who'd just disappeared after exiting the field. She knew that under his supposedly calm outer shell he was probably really upset and needed someone to cheer him up, though honestly speaking the boy would be fine within an hour or two. She hadn't really thought about what she'd say or if she was even able to cheer him up but she figured she's give it a try.

Linoone squirmed in her arms as he tried to get down and walk by himself but Dawn didn't want to risk losing him in the crowd. The normal type looked at her seemingly a little annoyed and she sighed.

"Sorry that I have to carry you like this but there's just so many people here and I don't want to risk losing you. You could always get up on my head if you want to help look for Barry though," she told him and the Pokémon nodded in response, quickly climbing on top of her blue hair.

They spent the next ten minutes searching for the blond haired boy before Linoone spotted him at a nearby shop. As they approached him Dawn let out a sigh upon seeing the boy, happily munching on a hotdog. It looked like her services weren't needed after all as she seated next to the boy on a bench with an apprehensive expression on her face.

Barry turned to look at her and he smiled widely.

"Hey Dawn, thought when you'd show up. Want something to eat?" he asked cheerfully as he pointed at the numerous food stands before them.

Dawn shook her head.

"No thanks, I'm not really hungry…" she admitted, gulping as she thought about the upcoming award ceremony. It was probably a good idea not eating anything within the next hour or two just to be sure.

"You were amazing out there today, I don't think I've ever seen you battle like that before," she continued and waited for the boy to respond. The last thing she wanted was upsetting him again.

Barry grinned at her and rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand.

"Yeah, I guess we did give our best today, huh? Too bad it wasn't enough though, I'd really liked to battle against Paul and my dad," he replied before taking another bite of his meal.

Dawn smiled at the boy; he never let anything upset him too long before he was all smiles again. Guess all he needed was food and someone to talk to, to get him in a better mood once more.

"You know, you really surprised me when you froze the field. It was quite ingenious, where'd you pick that up?" she asked him and gave him a curious glance. The boy smirked in response.

"What, you don't believe it was my own idea?" he laughed and upon a knowing look from Dawn he sighed and grinned once more.

"Would you believe it, from a contest? Never thought I'd live the day to actually watch one of those but for once it paid off; there was this Dewgong that froze the field and it end up winning! I figured those kinds of moves would probably work in real battles as well so I started practicing it. Arceus it worked perfectly!" he sighed upon remembering his battle. The boy seemed to be living the whole thing once more and Linoone took advantage of the situation by taking a bite out of the boy's hotdog.

Dawn gave the normal type a slightly amused look before Barry landed from his cloud nine and started to talk again.

"Hey do you have any plans for the rest of the day? I was thinking we could go watch the finals and after that just hang out. It's been forever since I've last been to these kinds of things," he laughed and Dawn couldn't suppress a smile before frowning a little.

"Actually, I sort of have this thing I need to do right after the final but we can go watch the battle. I just don't know how long I can stay before I have to go prepare…" she sighed upon thinking of her unwilling responsibility. Barry gave her a curious look.

"Oh, what do you plan to do?" he asked and took another bite out of his hotdog, not noticing it had almost halved in size since his last bite. Linoone stared at the piece of food whilst licking its lips, a few breadcrumbs on his fuzzy cheeks giving away what he'd been doing for the last couple of minutes.

"My mom went behind my back and signed me up to give away the award for the tournament. Honestly I wish she hadn't, she knows I don't do well when I'm the center of attention…" she sighed and gave Linoone a sharp look upon realizing he wasn't leaving the boy anything to eat.

Barry smirked empathically, he knew Dawn hated crowds. He wondered if she'd ever been able to even battle if she couldn't stand people looking at her. Maybe that was the reason she hadn't set off in the beginning.

Suddenly remembering his earlier questions to her, he glanced at her feeling a little insecure. She caught his glance and turned to face him, the question written on her face.

"What's wrong?" she asked and Barry gave her an apologetic smile.

"Look, I'm sorry for upsetting you earlier even though I don't know what I did…" he told her, his voice turning into a whisper as he finished. His attention went back to his meal and he was surprised to see it completely gone. He looked at the content Linoone on Dawn's lap and sighed.

"Guess that really is Damien's Linoone, always stealing my food…" he smirked and to his relief got a smile from Dawn as well.

She shifted on her seat and hugged the greedy normal type a little tighter.

"Yeah, that's Linoone for you," she whispered.

There was a moment of silence between the two as they stared at the numerous food stands and shops around them. No one was really paying attention to them, their minds only in exploring the festival area.

After what seemed like an eternity, Barry finally opened his mouth, Dawn knowing all too well he couldn't keep it shut for too long. He seemed to have been thinking a lot what he was going to say and it looked like he was choosing every word rather then just blurting out the first thing that came to mind.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here when it happened Dawn," he weighed out his words and after seeing her nod, continued.

"I remember wanting to call you when I heard the news on TV but I didn't know what to say… I'm not very good with those kinds of things," he rubbed the back of his head and gave her an apologetic grin.

Dawn stared at him for a moment and sighed. She knew he was trying his best and she appreciated his attempt to apologize for his absence though he really didn't need to. Besides, he'd probably just gotten on her nerves after awhile if he'd been here. In a way she was glad he'd already been too far away to turn back.

"Nah, it's alright. And you don't have to apologize anymore, I just sort of freaked out earlier…" she laughed feeling embarrassed of her tantrum.

They were interrupted as the announcer asked for everyone's attention.

"Attention all festival-goers! I'm pleased to inform you that the final for the Twinleaf Tournament is about to start. The two skillful trainers facing each other are Shawn from Hearthome City and Paul from Veilstone City, so it'll be a face-off between two Sinnoh trainers! The audience is advised to take their seat near field number four, the battle will begin in five minutes!" he announced happily as the people started to hurry to the fields.

Barry was already standing as he grabbed Dawn's hand and began dragging her through the crowd.

"Hurry up Dawn before all the good seats are taken!" he hurried her as they began to sprint towards the field in question. They found a good place just by the field and sat down whilst evening their breaths. Dawn held onto Linoone as she let her eyes wander around the field, spotting the two finalists in question.

The two boys were already positioned on their own side of the field, both eyeing the other. Shawn seemed to be re-energized after his battle with Barry and he grinned widely as he took in the cheers from the audience as the two were being introduced. Paul was as emotionless as ever, although he did raise his hand up to acknowledge the audience. To the audience's great surprise, Palmer stepped onto the field along with the referee and they stopped the middle, signaling the finalists to come over and shake hands. Palmer lifted his hand up in the air to quiet down the audience before he started to speak.

"It's been a long, tiring day for us all but it's finally time to settle who the winner of the first ever Twinleaf Tournament is! As a reminder, the battle will be three against three with switching aloud. The winner of this battle will be presented with the Grand Prize and will also have a chance to battle against yours truly. Now, let's get this battle started!" he shouted and the crowd roared with excitement.

As Palmer exited the field and the challengers were ready, the referee swung his green flag to begin the battle. Paul and Shawn stared at each other intensely before both of them placed a hand on their belts, ready to send out their first Pokémon. With a confident smirk, Shawn decided to go first and grabbed a Great Ball before throwing it onto the field. He was going to make sure everyone knew his name after this.

* * *

~ Be kind and review! ^^


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